Madonna's Son Meets His Biological Father

Posted Apr 1st 2009 11:00AM by Brett Singer
Filed under: Adoption, Celeb Parenting

There are very few celebrities left in the world who can command media attention virtually any time of the year, no matter what else is going on. This week the news is full of government bailouts, tax increases, Afghanistan – and Madonna. Give the Material Mom credit for one thing: She's still got that special something that makes folks take notice.

This time around, it's her effort to adopt a second Malawian child. The hearing has been delayed until Friday, so Madge stayed in the African village with all three of her kids – 12-year-old Lourdes, 8-year-old Rocco, and adopted son David, 3, who met with his biological father on Tuesday.

David's dad, Yohane, described their meeting, in a way that is kind of heart-breaking: "He asked me who I was. When I told him 'I am your daddy' he looked surprised...He asked me lots of questions about lots of things. He asked me whether I ride horses. I told him horses are for the rich and he asked me why I am poor. He told me his mum likes riding horses and that he too rides horses."Yohane went on to say that Madonna is "a sweet lady," and that he is sad about her divorce from Guy Ritchie (whom Yohane refers to as David's "daddy"). Most tellingly, though, Yohane said that he has no regrets about giving David up.

"I was very happy to meet David again. He reminds me of the two sons I lost in infancy. I sometimes shudder to think that David could also have met the same fate had Madonna not adopted him. I am really grateful to her for saving David from possible early death."

So maybe we should stop saying that Madonna adopting Mercy James is a bad thing. Clearly her life will be better in the U.K., no matter how many family members she has in Malawi.

As an aside, David looks like a cute, happy toddler, and Lourdes looks like she's about to start college. I'm always amazed at how much faster girls mature than boys. She's a cute kid, and whatever else we want to say about Madonna (and believe me, there's plenty to say if one wants to go there), she appears to be a doting mom. That has to be worth something, don't you think?

Brett Singer is the editor-in-chief of DaddyTips.com.

Reader Comments

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1. I'm not entirely clear why Madonna attracts so much criticism. But ultimately we should remember that most people in Malawi do not live beyond the age of 50, Mercy's life expectancy increases straight away by being adopted. That should be enough in itself.

And Madonna seems like type of person who is genuinely interested in other cultures so I can't see her denying her adopted children future access their racial heritage. After all, she's already taken David back to meet his biological father in Malawi, which is unheard of in formal adoptions in the West.

And lastly, Madonna has shone a light on a country that most of us hadn't even heard of before she went there. Yes, perhaps its cultural make-up might shift a little with Western awareness, but at least Madonna has done something that will actively SAVE LIVES.

What have YOU done?

Posted at 4:57AM on Apr 2nd 2009 by gavin

2. Doting? Just because she is adopting a child that doesn't make her a doting parent. How many hours a day does she work out? Concert tours? Her cute, happy kids could be the work of a great nanny.

Posted at 9:56PM on Apr 1st 2009 by shibonleigh

3. Child education is indeed not an easy thing, especially for adoptive children.

http://www.000health.com

Posted at 4:09AM on Apr 2nd 2009 by Anne

4. I agree with Gavin for the most part. I am so sick of comfortable, selfish Westerners dissing the actions of celebrity adoptive parents while sitting and eating chips. Does the fat in those potato chips give you a sixth sense to see inside the hearts of adoptive parents? At least they are doing something. What are you doing? Have you ever even been to the poor side of a developing country? (Stop eating those chips for a while if you can't afford the plane ticket.)

If a child is truly an orphan, meaning either the birth parents (or single mom) are dead, the child is abandoned, or she's relinquished for adoption because her close relatives can't care for her; and if the child isn't likely to be adopted in her home country/culture; then I believe it's better for the child to be adopted internationally than to be left in an orphanage. Here in the US, we don't even have orphanages any more because they are considered so detrimental to a child's development. So it makes no sense to say that an underfunded orphanage in a third-world country is the best place for a child who has a chance at being adopted by fit, economically stable parents. It's about giving a child a FAMILY.

I have to disagree with Gavin on the "unheard of" comment. Many US adoptions, including some international ones, are "open" and the children do get to know their biological parents. It's harder in international adoption for a variety of reasons. A birth mom may be illiterate, speak only an indigenous language, and/or want to keep her out-of-wedlock birth secret. Of course the complications of travel to a developing country with a young child also make it difficult. Yet it's not "unheard of." Many (possibly most) adoptive parents would prefer to maintain some contact with the birth parent(s) if feasible.

Posted at 12:36PM on Apr 2nd 2009 by SKL

5. There are plenty of kids in our own fucking country suffering from poverty and starvation...

The Nanny is actually going to be the adoptive parent, do you really think that Madonna is so motherly?

Idiots!!

Tell her to come through Detroit and maybe take a look at some of the things I see on a daily basis. Maybe she'll bring some of that wealth of hers to a good use. After all we are her Home State.

Posted at 10:14AM on Jun 16th 2009 by Brian

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