On how she was ‘tortured’ as a teenager: ‘[G]oing to high school, I saw how popular girls had to behave to get the boys. I knew I couldn’t fit into that. So I decided to do the opposite. I refused to wear makeup, to have a hairstyle. I refused to shave. I had hairy armpits. The boys in my school would make fun of me … ‘Hairy monster.’ You know, things like that … Straight men did not find me attractive.’

On the controversy surrounding her movie W.E.: ‘Making movies is really hard. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done… When I brought up the subject of Wallis Simpson to people when I was living in England, I was astounded by the outrage that was provoked by her name. The movie is all about the cult of celebrity… Wallis Simpson became famous by default, by capturing the heart of the king, but it’s obviously a subject I’m constantly on the inside of, and the outside of.’

On sexuality: ‘I think that the world is not comfortable with female sexuality. It’s always coming from a male point of view, and a woman is being objectified by a man… and even women are comfortable with that. But when a woman does it, ironically, women are uncomfortable with it. I think a lot of that has to do with conditioning.’

On ageing in the spotlight, Madonna says: ‘I find whenever someone writes anything about me, my age is right after my name. It’s almost like they’re saying, ‘Here she is, but remember she’s this age, so she’s not that relevant anymore.’ Or ‘Let’s punish her by reminding her and everyone else.’ When you put someone’s age down, you’re limiting them.’

On how she relates to the subject of her film: ‘I think my behavior and my lifestyle threaten a lot of social norms, like the movie does. I think there are a lot of parallels and connections. I think it’s just that as a creative person, in all the different things that I’ve done or ways that I’ve found to express myself, I’ve consistently come up against resistance in certain areas.’