Ryan Murphy defends Madonna as ‘most important artist of last 50 years’ after NYT snub

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Ryan Murphy has strongly defended Madonna and called her the “most important artist of the last 50 years” after an April list by The New York Times did not include her in the ‘30 Greatest Living American Songwriters.’

The director, who has long been an outspoken fan and champion of Madonna, also stated that, aside from Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney, no one “comes close” to the 67-year-old icon in terms of cultural impact.

Ryan Murphy hails Madonna for traveling road that was 'original and lonely'

Murphy shared his thoughts in the comments section of a post by Madonna portal. “Madonna is THE most important artist of the last 50 years. No one comes close in cultural import, other than Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney, both of whom are truly incredible artists for the ages,” he wrote. 

“The road that Madonna traveled is truly original and lonely and a first.  I love hearing a defense. I LOVE Wesley for this viewpoint. It's truly emotional, it makes me emotional.... someone who had such an influence on my life who was ALWAYS misunderstood.! The hate Madonna has received and survived. It's beyond comprehension,” Murphy asserted.

The ‘American Horror Story’ writer further added that “there is no one in my lifetime who has meant more to me, or had more of an impact on art, fashion, music, ALL OF IT than Madonna.”

Ryan Murphy once lied about his star sign to get hired by Madonna 

During a 2023 appearance on ‘And That's What You Really Missed’ podcast, Murphy revealed that during the early days of his career, Lakeshore Entertainment founder Tom Rosenberg reached out to him for a job that involved conducting a series of interviews with Madonna for a film.

However, the ‘Glee’ creator had to fake his star sign to get hired by the pop icon. “In the elevator ride up to meet Madonna for the very first time with Tom, he turned to me and said, ‘I forgot to ask you, when is your birthday?’” Murphy recalled.

“I said, ‘I'm November 9th.’ And he goes, ‘Are you a Scorpio?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ And he goes, ‘You can't tell that to her, ‘cause she won't hire you.’”

Murphy went on to share that the conversation about his star sign did come up during the interview. “I meet her. She’s lovely. The last question is, ‘When were you born?’ And I gave her my mother’s birthday of September third and she said, ‘Oh, a Virgo. Okay.’ By the time we got down to the lobby, it became word that I was hired.”

The writer-director said he “never understood the Scorpio thing,” but had a “great experience” working with the pop star. “I cannot say enough good things about Madonna,” he said at the time.