Madonna's adoption hopes fade

By Carla Bevan on Thursday 30 April 2009

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Madonna - Celebrity News - Marie Claire

Madonna's hopes of adopting Malawian toddler Mercy James are looking less likely by the day after the child's father said he will fight for custody of her himself.

James Kambewa, who has never actually met Mercy after abandoning her mother while she was still pregnant, says he wants to spare the three-year-old from a lifetime of 'scandal'.

'She is my daughter; she is my blood; she needs parental love,' 23-year-old Kambewa told the Daily Mail. 'She is not an orphan. She lost one parent, yes, but I am still alive and so she is not an orphan.

'Madonna has millions of dollars but that doesn't make her a good mum. Parental love is more than money.'

He has written to the Human Rights Consultative Committee, who are already campaigning against Madonna's adoption plea being requested, asking for them to help him gain a permanent injunction against Madonna adopting the little girl, who has been in an orphanage ever since her mother died.

'I don't think Madonna is a model mum,' he continues. 'I have seen her in movies of her songs. She doesn't portray good morals.

'How can a woman of 50 dance almost naked on stage? I wouldn't want my daughter to grow up like that! In Malawi, women respect themselves. Cultured women do not go about half-naked.

'I also heard after her marriage failed she is already seeing two men, both very younger than her and her ex-husband. I hear one of them is even less than half her age. That's scandalous. How can a normal woman fall for a boy who can as well be her son? No, spare my Mercy that scandal.'

The Human Rights Consultative Committee yesterday confirmed they had received James' letter and were deciding whether to appoint him a lawyer or not.

An appeal hearing over Madonna's failed adoption request is set to be held next Monday.

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Thursday 30 April 2009

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I don't see why Madonna can't do a low key adoption of an American orphan ... but it's rich for a guy who abandoned a pregnant woman to say her morals are bad even if everyone agreed with him on that! It'd be funny if it wasn't so sad.
Comment by susie on April 30 12:59

Never mind that men in your country are with women young enough to be their daughters on a regular basis..
Comment by sandra on April 30 13:35

Finally! Someone telling us what they really think about Madonna and the example she sets. Mercy's father may not have been there for her in the beginning but he is now and he isn't after Madonna's money and does not want her to be in such a scandalous environment. We have to remember that these are just kids. Its great that Madonna does what she does at her age, but once you bring children into that environment you have to think about the example that you set. It isn't about her anymore.
As much as Madonna wants to be a mother, I think it is actually rather selfish of her. Its all about her and what she wants, not about the children. I'm sure the kids are raised well enough... by the nanny.
Comment by Tamara on April 30 13:59

I used to be a Madonna fan. Now, fame has turned her into an ugly person. She is now the epitome of selfishness and vanity. I have no objections to Madonna's never-ending displays of nudity or dating a younger man. I do agree with Mercy's father that Madonna is probably an unfit mother.
Comment by Shane on April 30 20:32

Sooo outrageous that narrow minded people can all jump on the bandwagon that Madonna is an unfit mother because she parades around the stage half naked...she is performing on stage, its just a costume, off stage she dresses respectfully as any role model mother would...So what if she has a nanny, Madonna is a hard working mother who can afford the help of a nanny so she can go out to work and perform on stage because that is what she does and successfully too. As for Mercy....well i feel sorry for her if her 23 year old father gains custody of her, as he abandoned her at birth he is highly unlikely to be able to give her the love she deserves, sounds like he is fighting for custody in the hope that Madonna will pay him off....i doubt Madonna is fighting for custody to add Mercy to her brood as a fashion accessory, just because she is perceived to be "scandalous" i genuinely believe she just enjoys being a mother in her down time....i hope she wins the custody battle and gives Mercy a hope of a better life and education that she could only dream of in Malawi.....
Comment by Raquel on May 01 11:45

Unbelievable, he abandonded the mother, has never met the child and yet he feels he can comment on the qualities of a parental love he hasn't shown himself! Surely the point is that the child would be better off being raised in a family and being educated, than left in an orphanage. The father hasn't exactly rushed to remove her from the orphanage or improve her life has he??
Comment by Nicki on May 01 13:20

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