Madonna has opened up about how she dealt with the criticism she faced after adopting her son David from Malawi.
The singer - who met David in an orphanage in Mchinji in 2006 - described being under such scrutiny as 'a real low point in my life'.
Madonna was photographed for Harper's Bazaar by Terry Richardson
Speaking to Harper's Bazaar US, Madonna said: "I didn't know that trying to adopt a child was going to land me in another shit storm. But it did.
"I was accused of kidnapping, child trafficking, using my celebrity muscle to jump ahead in the line, bribing government officials, witchcraft, you name it. Certainly I had done something illegal!"
She went on: "This was an eye-opening experience. A real low point in my life. I could get my head around people giving me a hard time for simulating masturbation onstage or publishing my Sex book, even kissing Britney Spears at an awards show, but trying to save a child's life was not something I thought I would be punished for.
"Friends tried to cheer me up by telling me to think of it all as labor pains that we all have to go through when we give birth. This was vaguely comforting. In any case, I got through it. I survived.”
Madonna opened up about her adoption of her children
Madonna later adopted a second child from Malawi, a daughter called Mercy in 2009
“One of the many things I learned from all of this: If you aren't willing to fight for what you believe in, then don't even enter the ring,” she added.
The full interview appears in the November issue of Harper's Bazaar US, out now.
