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Madonna has always caused a stir. Whether it's dating much younger men or starring in outrageous music videos, The Queen of Pop has thrived off of pushing boundaries. Perhaps no more so than in 1992 with her coffee table book, "S*x".
While the book's release corresponded with that of her fifth studio album, the full-on and risque images within stole most of the attention. There was uproar. There was praise. And then there was quite a bit more uproar.
In an interview with Vulture, model and acting legend Isabella Rossellini, who was featured in Madonna's book, shared a unique, brutally honest, and somewhat cutting opinion about it all.
Isabella Rossellini Was Used To NSFW Scenes
Isabella Rossellini has always been quite open about her intimate life and openly embraced her body. After all, she was an incredibly successful model. This is why she was tapped to be in Madonna's erotica book. While the book caused controversy at the time, Isabella said, in a recent interview with Vulture, that America is still plagued by prudishness.
"In some countries, if you’re gay or transgender, they kill you or put you in jail. In America, you’re protected and can get married. And yet there’s a puritanical streak. There are many things I loved about becoming an American, but this is the part I can’t quite figure out. What is the logic? How does it work?" she asked.
Isabella famously exposed much of her body in David Lynch's 1986 film Blue Velvet and did the same (albeit partially via body double) in Death Becomes her.
"To me, I do everything to serve the film," Isabella said to Vulture.
While Isabella exposed parts of herself in both films, each was for very different purposes. In Blue Velvet, the clothes-less scenes were somber, violent, and heartbreaking. They told a story of tragedy. While in Death Becomes Her, the n*dity was far more glamorous and seductive.
"That’s why I personally suggested a body double," Isabella admitted to Vulture. "I think it’s important, if you do a n*de scene, to take responsibility — and also you’re there, so you can say to the director when something makes you feel uncomfortable. But in the case of Death Becomes Her, the body double had to be Barbie and I just didn’t have that body."
How Isabella Was Hired For Madonna's Book
In her interview with Vulture, Isabella shared her love for Steven Meisel, the photographer responsible for the photos in Madonna's infamous book.
"A lot of photographers publish books with retrospectives of their photos, and Steven was offered to do a book," Isabella explained. "He was very young, and he said, 'I don’t want to make a book of the photos I’ve done. I would like to take advantage of the idea to make a book about photography, and Madonna wants to make a book about s*x. Maybe we’ll do that.'"
Soon, Isabella, Steve, and Madonna went out for dinner.
"Madonna explained to me — and she was right — that s*x is such a taboo. It can be the most tender moments of our lives, and also the most violent. She said, 'I would like to do a portrait of s*x, but all me, kind of like a Frida Kahlo idea.' I thought that was a very interesting idea, and I thought she had a lot of authority to talk about s*x. She wanted it to be openly bisexual. She was very liberating."
Isabella agreed to take part in it, but with a caveat... she didn't want to be fully exposed.
This was due to the backlash she got for all the NSFW scenes she did in Blue Velvet.
"I was so persecuted. There were so many complaints. I said, 'I am willing to do any portrait of two women in love. That’s no problem. But I don’t want to do another n*dity because there were so many repercussions. I don’t have it in me anymore.'"
What Isabella Rossellini Really Thought About Madonna's Book
"I told Madonna and Steven the book is beautiful and the photos are beautiful but I don’t think she went deep enough," Isabella admitted during her interview with Vulture.
She went on to say that Madonna appeared to be saying, "I am liberated and you are not."
"I understand she may have wanted to say, 'S*x has many facets and I am exploring them all.' In that, I appreciated her effort. But somehow the book missed something."
This is something that she reportedly even admitted to the photographer.
"I said to Steven, 'If you photograph a man naked but he’s an athlete, it’s going to be a different impact than seeing a businessman n*ked. If you see a businessman n*ked, it will hit you as more shocking.' Madonna is almost too perfect. She arranged everything: the makeup, the p*bic hair. In a way, it was too slick. There was no vulnerability."
Isabella Rossellini continued to voice her opinions about Madonna's booking an interview with Out.
"I don’t think the book worked, even though the photos were extraordinary and some of them quite memorable. I think there was a little bit of a moralistic sort of 'I’ll teach you how to be free!' and that bothered the h*ll out of me."
She went on to say, "Because I think if you want to practice abstinence and that makes you happy, you are OK. If you want to be gay, that’s OK. If you want to screw anything that moves, that’s OK. It’s funny to use the word moralistic for that book because people probably don’t put those together, but it was a little bit of 'I know better!' and didn’t like that."
