Catholic-turned-Kabbalah-kook Madonna has a bad habit of displaying poor taste, and now her boy-toy director hubby has stirred up more controversy – by dressing as the pope while John Paul II is seriously ailing.
The bizarre pair donned what critics blasted as outrageously offensive costumes for a fete celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim at the Kabbalah Center in London.
The gap-toothed, 46-year-old mom of two went as a nun, while her wide-eyed, 36-year-old husband, Guy Ritchie, strutted through the doors as the pope.
Both of them were dripping in crucifixes on the day that millions of Catholics refer to as Holy Thursday. That’s when Christ instituted the Mass by holding the Last Supper, and it comes just three days before the religion’s most sacred holiday, Easter.
But it was Ritchie’s gold-trimmed white garb and matching beanie that drew the most ire of Catholic leaders, who were incensed over his timing considering that Pope John Paul II’s worldwide flock is in grief over his extremely poor health.
“Her husband suggests that he’s just as depraved as his wife,” said Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League.
“Now if he [Ritchie] had come as a priest, I still would have been offended. But to come as the pope, particularly knowing he’s failing?
“I suggest that next time, Madonna dress up in something more suited to her, such as from the Wiccan religion,” Donohue said. “And the Catholic League would donate a broom to her husband – with instructions on what to do with it.
“She’s just as low-class as she was in the beginning. And she found the right guy.”
Madonna’s rep, Liz Rosenberg, scoffed at the criticism.
“That’s completely ridiculous,” she said of the hoopla. “They went to a costume party. There wasn’t disrespect intended at all. That’s just somebody looking for a problem when there isn’t one.”
Exclusive photos of the pair at the gig will be featured in the new People magazine out Friday.
Purim is the Jewish religion’s most festive holiday, when it is customary to wear costumes and drink.