On Friday, People Magazine had yet another strategic leak from Guy Ritchie’s camp in the ongoing and public custodial dispute over Rocco Ritchie. If this custody battle has proven anything, it’s that Guy and Madonna still have a lot of anger towards each other, and they’re perfectly happy to battle it out publicly over anything, especially their son’s welfare. There are so many bad feelings, in fact, I’m a little bit surprised that this is the first time a battle royale between the two of them has gone down post-divorce. Anyway, there are two pieces of information in this Guy Ritchie-produced story: Guy thinks Madonna is killing Rocco’s confidence, and Guy thinks Madonna has always “misrepresented” him, privately and publicly.
Opposing parenting methods are at play in Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s international custody battle over their 15-year-old son Rocco.
“He wants Rocco to have the confidence he lacked growing up and thinks Madonna’s stern parental style is counterproductive,” a Ritchie source says of the British director, who struggled with severe dyslexia as a child. “The welfare of Rocco is Guy’s priority.”
After traveling with his mom for three months on her Rebel Heart tour, Rocco left his mom in December to live with his dad in the U.K. When the teen refused to return to the U.S. for the holidays, Madonna appeared in a New York courtroom on Dec. 23, where a judge reportedly ordered that Rocco come home to New York so his parents – who finalized their nasty divorce in 2008 – could sort out his living situation.
As PEOPLE reported last week, Rocco hasn’t returned home to Madonna yet, and a source close to the singer alleges he has missed school. According to the Ritchie source, Rocco thinks his Manhattan private school is elitist, and he misses spending time with his friends in London. (Despite tabloid reports that the teen is refusing to return to New York because of a girlfriend, the Ritchie source says, “There’s nobody serious he’s dating at the moment.”)
A friend of the former couple told PEOPLE last week the custody battle stems from a ”power struggle” between Madonna, 57, and Ritchie, 47. (“They don’t have a good relationship; it’s more of a power fight between them and if he can one-up her. This is the best way he can do it,” the friend said at the time.)
But the Ritchie source says the squabble isn’t about getting back at his ex.
“Guy is convinced Madonna has long misrepresented him,” says the Ritchie source. “Perhaps the best example of this is her subsequent sentiment that he liked to film her unflatteringly during their marriage in Swept Away and various videos.”
Re: Rocco’s confidence… it’s not so much that I think Madonna kills her children’s confidence as much as she’s a controlling narcissist who only sees her children as extensions of herself, so when they do show flashes of their own personalities and desires to do something else beyond engage in her drama, she freaks out and doesn’t know how to handle it.
Re: Madonna misrepresenting Guy Ritchie… that’s a very interesting quote, isn’t it? “Perhaps the best example of this is her subsequent sentiment that he liked to film her unflatteringly during their marriage in Swept Away and various videos.” Swept Away was such a disaster, it’s difficult to even discuss. But did Madonna really think the biggest issue was THE WAY Guy liked to film her? Or was the bigger issue that Madonna thought she was an actress and she’s not? At all?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Oh, jesus. LOL. Keep em coming, Madge. You are veering right into Gloria Swanson territory.
lol
I’m not sure Guy is a good enough director to find a flattering way to film Madonna.
LOL. A double-burn!
Love it
Yeah, because it’s SO hard to get a bad shot of Madonna.
not everyone is willing to cover their lens with vaseline and pantyhose
lol
LOLLL – thanks for this Lisa! Although I do like that blue dress with the silver lame belt she’s wearing.
I almost said, “There’s a way to get a flattering shot of Madonna?”…but you said it better.
And LOL @ each of the above comments.
I am ROTFLMAO over all of you this morn-and I really needed it. Cheers!
Oh, these two.
Cases like this appear in every family court every day everywhere. Two alleged adults behave badly and manipulative kid pits them against one another. All three people here are behaving badly
Exactly this. We really need to stop hearing what Madge thinks or Guy thinks. Frankly, I’m a little surprised at the level of mudslinging going on here.
I expected it from Halle and Kelly, but I do have to say I thought Madonna was smarter than this. I really thought they ALL were. It must be pretty gnarly for all of these leaked stories. Which again, silly and over a 15 year old kid who kind of gets a say in where he lives, by law. It’s crazy!
Is Bearcat visiting these threads? Would love her voice on legalities of 15 year old children and custody. I could also Google it haha. It’s always been my understanding that after like 13, kids can tell a judge where they prefer.
It depends on where the court order takes place. And they don’t get to say where they live but get a say in it. 🙂
I was lucky enough that my parents listened to what I wanted and I never had to go to court to have custody modified.
Guy did not go posting crap, she just cannot take that her son wants to be with his father,instead with her flamboyant tour group. Nothing wrong with that. Finish your tour, maybe he’ll feel like he has a home.3 months touring for a teen is exhausting if our not one of her fanatics. If his father can provide a proper home life then what’s so bad about it. She’s making it worse.
I’m tired of hearing people assume the kid is “manipulative”. I’m sorry you all had such horrible experiences with teenagers, but I remember being one quite well and I wasn’t manipulative at all. Just trying to live day to day with a dysfunctional situation and promising myself that my cat and I wouldn’t have to live with my ulcer-producing family much longer…. We really have no idea what has really been going on with Rocco and Madonna. He might not be manipulative, just trying to deal with a difficult situation. He had an escape route (shifting to living with his dad) and he used it. Better than disappearing into the streets. He has a right to both homes, that’s what happens when parents divorce. Madonna might be fine with younger children, but everything we know about how she deals with life in general points to someone who would have considerable difficulty dealing full-time with an adolescent who is on the way to adulthood and needing to gradually become more independent while also still very much needing a parent’s presence. That doesn’t mean she’s a monster, but her own issues could definitely interfere. She may discover that she makes a much better long-distance mother at this stage, so Rocco can benefit from the positives she has to offer without being driven away by the negatives. She has to learn how to do this eventually, he’ll be legal before long and she will need to forge a parent-adult child relationship with him. Making this into a power struggle as she has done (this is definitely not about Guy) is pushing Rocco into a corner, while if she would just chill about it then he might very well happily move between parents easily. The visitation thing with his dad hasn’t been enough for him, so he needs to actually live with his dad for a while. Madonna’s own actions are making that a permanent arrangement. She wants to blame Guy, but clearly Rocco is the driving force here.
Well, it’s really not that hard to film her unflatteringly.
Madonna who built her entire image on being a rebel and running away and doing things in her own way and having issues with her own parent (father) now can’t handle that her teenage son wants to live with his own dad? LMAO.
Also after that strange act of hers in Kentucky, I understand why Rocco ran away from her.
Actually she went to University of Michigan for two years then moved to New York when she was 20. That myth about her leaving home at 17 for NYC with just a few bucks was disproven long ago, along with many other discrepancies Madonna has made about her background.
It’s not like the fact she can’t act her way out of a wet paper bag came into play at all. I’m not a fan of Guy, but Madonna’s basically the textbook example of a narcissistic Mother. While she may ” love” her children, she loves herself more and everything will ultimately always be about her and what she wants.
Ding,ding,ding
^^^ THIS!!! A thousand times.
Plus, the whole “but what about the way he filmed me!” does rather support the whole self-obsessed narcissist theory. I guess the issue with both Guy and Rocco is that “no one makes baby look bad!” Image above everything.
I’m sorry…actually I’m not, but Madge, no amount of plastic surgery or filming can fix your kind of unflattering ugly. Every teenage boy’s dream is to have his mom post a picture of him with a #nosausage caption….it must be the maternal instinct that runneth over in your cups when you made that comment…oh wait no, that’s silicone, my bad!…I have a daughter his age…can’t remember the last time I commented on her physical attributes on my Instagram or FB page…silly me…..and you wonder why your son would rather not live with you???
p.s. I’ll be in the corner, waiting on my whipping but I stand by what I posted.
Apropos of nothing, but god do I think she looked fab when she was with Guy. She had a sexy maturity to her style that really seemed to suit her. Come back to these gorgeous looks, Madge!
Omg, her whole lady of the manor act — accent, riding britches, country estate and all. I think Guy Ritchie, even though he is a posho, found such posing by an American ludicrous and embarrassing, which is partly why he was less than sympathetic when she fell off that horse.
He bought that horse for her. It was her birthday. I think he was out to kill her. LOL J/K
I had to wait til my keyboard dried out to comment; tried reading while drinking coffee. That’s rich, Madge!
He worries about the lad’s self esteem yet he named him Rocco. Too little too late, I think.
Rocco is a Italian/Germanic name. What’s wrong with it?
I like the name, I’ve known a few Roccos in my life, and it speaks to his Italian heritage. I doubt very much that it’s his name that is causing self-esteem issues, and I don’t think Rocco has self-esteem issues, he has “I need to get away from my ridiculous mother” issues.
Rocco was named after one of Madonna’s uncles.
The only time I can remember Madonna doing a good job acting was in Desperately Seeking Susan. The rest of her acting was crap. For some reason after DSS, she became overly conscious and very self-aware of herself that her acting became very stilted, unnatural, and awkward to watch.
Anyhoo, Madonna can stop all of this by just giving physical custody to Guy. And yes, she might have to pay him child support, but at least this issue will go away and Rocco can get on with his life (go to school, feel settled, start making friends in London, etc.).
The longer it goes on, the more crap is going to be slung in public. How embarrassing for all sides, but most especially for Rocco. Madonna practiced public humiliation on Rocco before and still continues to do it. Does everything have to be publicized, Madonna?
I’ve said this before, but, I can’t understand why any of the parties here, are interested in press in this matter period.
Madge….FFS it’s you who paints herself in a bad light. You’re a mouthy, self-absorbed control freak whose only passion in life is a desperate clinging to youth, fame and relevance. Your acting skills are laughable and no amount of proper filming will magically turn you Oscar material.
Some thoughts:
Madonna was actually great in movies like A League of Their Own, Dick Tracy and I hear Desperately Seeking Susan, which I haven’t seen. I just think her obsession with how she looks and her ever-growing narcissism has since hindered any acting ability she may once have had.
I think going to one of those elite Manhattan private schools would be awful. Some of those people are insanely snobby and I can see them looking down on this kid. I totally get it.
I don’t think a strict upbringing is necessarily a bad thing but it seems like everything is all about her and her kids are just extensions of her and that would be problematic. This kid is probably yearning for some stability, normalcy, and a bit more freedom. Makes sense.
I seem to remember her having this God awful faux American/British accent in Swept Away. Her acting was atrocious, it must be what happens when you surround yourself with people who tell you you’re right all the time.
MeeMaw Madge, you’ve really are letting your mental show. Guy doesn’t give one fig about you and your ‘lifestyle’. Clearly he’s moved on to a descent woman, whom her son adores. THAT’S what bugs Madge; she can’t control her sons feelings. Guess what Madge, nobody can control anyone.
Who GAF? This shite is not interesting.
Ugh, that pic of Guy with Rocco and David with Jacqui making it all about her rather than cosying up for a family photo.
Just speculating here but a few years ago when my kids were in their mid teens they were all about hanging with their pals and playing sports. Kids that age still want the stability of their home, and some adults around who love them and make things nice for them. They are starting to figure out who they are and branch out but want the safety of a home and family to fall back on. Rocco had none of that while on tour with his mother. He just wants to be a normal kid. If Madonna could see past her ego she would let Rocco stay with his dad. Since Guy Ritchie is not abusing or neglecting the boy it appears he can offer Rocco the stability the boy seems to be looking for. Madonna is still on tour and allegedly showed up drunk and late for a concert the other night. Way to go Mom! I’m team Guy on this one. I feel sorry for Rocco.