Prosecutors to monitor Madonna act
From Gina Serpe

BERLIN—If Madonna doesn’t change her ways, she could be going from “Hung Up” to locked up. German prosecutors have announced plans to monitor the erstwhile Material Girl’s Sunday concert in Duesseldorf to see if she goes ahead with the mock-crucifixion routine that has been drawing religious ire since her Confessions tour kicked off in May.
Should the pop star, who turns 48 Wednesday, perform the shock shtick, Johannes Mocken, a spokesman for the local authorities, told the Associated Press it could be construed as insulting religious beliefs, an offense that’s considered not only insensitive, but illegal in Germany. If Madonna goes through with the Jesus-channelling act and the locals find it insulting, she could face a maximum sentence of three years in prison. Meaning, Madonna’s next reinvention could be as an inmate.
The singer’s latest grasp at controversy has been a part of her act since the tour kicked off earlier this summer, and takes place during her rendition of the 1986 pop ballad “Live to Tell.” During the song, Madonna is suspended above the stage on a 20-foot mirrored cross, donning a crown of fake thorns, as images of Third World poverty and numbers representing the 12 million children orphaned by AIDS in Africa is displayed on a screen behind her.
However, prosecutors won’t actually be in attendance at the weekend gig; instead, Mocken explains, they will rely on media reports of the concert to determine whether or not Madonna was exercising her artistic freedoms or simply breaking the law. Meanwhile, the leotard-favouring songbird has defended the routine, claiming its imagery is part of an appeal to her audience to inspire concert-goers to donate to AIDS charities.