Rebel Hearts Like Mine: Madonna Alters Photos of MLK, Nelson Mandela to Promote New Album

Legendary pop star Madonna found herself the subject of ridicule online Friday after she altered and posted several photos of prominent black icons to social media, in an apparent attempt to link them to her new album.

The cover of the pop star’s latest album, titled Rebel Heart, is a black and white of Madonna with a line of black wire wrapped around her face. Her posts of Martin Luther King Jr., Bob Marley, and Nelson Mandela all feature the same wire, which has been superimposed onto old photos. The photos were are all labeled with the tag #rebelheart.

The singer posted this photo of Nelson Mandela, along with a tweet:

This❤️#rebelheart fought for freedom! pic.twitter.com/7OxGT28TuY

— Madonna (@Madonna) January 2, 2015

She did not forget Martin Luther King Jr.:

Bob Marley is also a #rebelheart, according to Madonna, who sang about ONE LOVE:

Needless to say, the backlash against the aging pop star was swift among some of the site’s more vocal users:

 

.@Madonna I love you, but PLEASE don’t trot out defaced photos of civil rights leaders to promote your new album. It’s tacky & disrespectful

— Philip Stinard (@pstinard) January 2, 2015