Madonna’s upcoming track is turning heads for reasons beyond the music itself. Fans and reporters alike are picking up on lyrics that appear to point straight at her former husband, Sean Penn.
The track, titled Bizarre, is part of Madonna’s Confessions II project and is set for release on Friday. While she never names the actor directly in the song, several lines seem to describe a Hollywood figure who felt threatened by her fame.
She sings about a movie star with deep blue eyes, describing him as the perfect prize. That description alone had listeners speculating, but the details that follow made the connection even harder to ignore.
The Shelby Cobra reference
One line in particular stands out. Madonna sings about someone who drove way too fast in a Shelby Cobra, describing it as something that wasn’t meant to last. This appears to reference the sports car she was rumored to have gifted Penn when the two got married back in 1985.
Interestingly, Penn later auctioned off a Shelby Mustang at the 2018 J/P Haitian Relief Organization gala.
Lyrics that hint at old tension
Beyond the car reference, the song touches on deeper emotional territory. Madonna sings about rolling out the carpet for someone who refuses to share it back, adding that she guesses he is threatened by her, even if he won’t admit it.
She continues reflecting on what once drew her in, singing about the little things that made her want him and describing the intensity of that early fire between them.
Calling it ‘Bizarre’
The song’s title feels intentional given its content. Madonna describes love itself as bizarre throughout the track, singing about feeling empty now that he is gone, and questioning why he still tempts her.
She goes on to sing about leaving him behind and acknowledging his resentment toward her. She lists a thousand reasons he could never have her, while still admitting that even the thought of being with him again feels indecent.
Their turbulent history
Madonna and Penn’s marriage ran from 1985 to 1989, and it was widely known to be a turbulent one. Madonna actually filed for divorce from Penn for the first time back in 1987, though the marriage did not officially end until two years later.
Looking back on the relationship during a 2022 interview with E! News, Madonna admitted that getting married in the first place probably was not the best decision.
Despite the rocky history, the two have managed to maintain a relationship over the years. Madonna has spoken about Penn in surprisingly warm terms at times, once describing him as a caring and compassionate individual.
That description came during a period when she had to publicly defend him against abuse allegations. In a sworn statement given in 2015, amid accusations made by Lee Daniels, Madonna stated clearly that while she and Penn had more than one heated argument during their relationship, he never struck her, tied her up, or physically assaulted her.
The following year, Daniels and Penn settled a ten million dollar defamation lawsuit that Penn had filed, with Daniels apologizing for the allegations he had made.
Their connection made headlines again in 2016, when the two were spotted holding hands at the Help Haiti Home gala just ahead of the Golden Globes that year.