Madonna, Eurovision production said fighting over song choice

Singer Madonna is threatening to pull out of her planned performance at the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel in May due to a dispute over her choice of songs, Hebrew media reported Wednesday.

The disagreement is said to center on one song in particular — a new unreleased single that deals with US politics. While producers have asked Madonna to leave the song out of her set due to its potentially divisive nature, she is said to be insisting on its inclusion, threatening to cancel her participation.

Channel 12 news reported that Madonna is expected to perform for about 15 minutes towards the end of the Eurovision finals, as votes from around the world are counted and ahead of the announcement of the winning entry.

Her performance has been reported to cost around $1.5 million, and was made possible with the contribution of Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams.

Adams has lived in Israel since 2015, and has funded several major projects, including the Giro d’Italia Big Start bike race that took place in the Jerusalem area last year. He also recently donated $5 million to SpaceIL, the non-profit organization that is behind the initiative to land the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon.