Madonna Says France Is Like 'Nazi Germany:' 'Rebel Heart' Singer Critical of European Racial Intolerance

Here's what the singer had to say:

France was once a country that accepted people of color. It was once a place that artists escaped to, whether it was Josephine Baker or Charlie Parker or writers, painters, whatever. It was a country that embraced everyone and that encouraged freedom in every way, shape, or form — freedom of expression, artistic freedom, for example.

Now, it's completely gone. It's like, to me, you know, I said this two years ago, it's like we're living in a crazy time. It feels like, you know, Nazi Germany. All of these people ... the intolerance, the level of intolerance that's going on is really scary. It's not just happening in France, it's all over Europe, but it's specifically in France. Anti-Semitism, I think, is at an all-time high, people are becoming, behaving, and reacting in extremely fearful ways, so it's scary.

The pop star didn't cite anything specific as to what prompted the remarks. She's taken the stance before, though — in 2012 Madonna combine images of France political figure Marine Le Pen with swastikas and Hitler's face. She showed them off during her tour.

Madonna is getting ready to release her 13th studio effort, Rebel Heart, which is due out next week. Diplo, Avicii and Kanye West did some production work on the album while Chance the Rapper, Nicki Minaj and Mike Tyson all have guest spots on the album. The lead single, "Living for Love," dropped in December following some album leaks.

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Madonna, Chance The Rapper, Nicki Minaj