Madonna supports Pussy Riot and gay rights, called "whore" by Russian deputy PM

Although Madonna's obviously no stranger to controversy, she's been bearing the brunt of a lot of public name-calling this past week.

To quickly recap, the first salvo came from the perpetually good-natured Elton John who, demonstrating his penchant for understatement and tact, called Her Madgesty a "cunt" and said she looked like a "fucking fairground stripper".

But move over, Rocket Man, it's Russia's deputy prime minister's turn.

Dmitry Rogozin took to Twitter to express his dissatisfaction with the provocative pop star after she declared her support for the controversial actions of the punk band Pussy Riot.

Here's the backstory.

At a Moscow concert on August 7, Madonna told the audience that she is praying for the release of the jailed members of Pussy Riot. The three women face imprisonment for staging a protest at the altar of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the country's main Orthodox church, on February 21. The trio performed a "punk prayer", asking the Virgin Mary to help rid their country of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin had been campaigning to return to presidency after four years as prime minister.

Prosecutors are seeking to sentence them to three years in prison for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. A verdict is slated to be announced on August 17.

In a show of support for the women, Madonna performed "Like a Virgin" wearing a balaclava (a trademark of the group) with "Pussy Riot" written on her back.

Although Rogozin didn't directly name Madonna in his August 10th tweet on his English-language account, his wording has been widely interpreted as referencing her.

Every ex-wh*re tends to lecture everybody with age. Especially during world tours and concerts

— Amb. Dmitry Rogozin (@DRogozin) August 10, 2012

On his Russian-language account, he indirectly told her to "Either take off your cross, or put on your panties" .

However, Madonna is not the only celebrity supporter of Pussy Riot. The ever-growing list includes the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Franz Ferdinand, Peaches, Yoko Ono, Faith No More, Jarvis Cocker, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Danny DeVito, Stephen Fry, and Terry Gilliam.

But Madonna also punched another Russian hot-button issue when she expressed her support of gay rights at a concert in Putin's hometown, St. Petersburg on August 9.

In March, the city adopted a law that prohibited homosexual "propaganda". In reaction to the law, Madonna had called it a "ridiculous atrocity" and vowed to speak out against it when she performed in Russia.

At her concert in St. Petersburg, Madonna, with the words "No Fear" written on her back, encouraged the audience to show their "love and appreciation" for the queer citizens. Concertgoers also received pink wristbands to wear as a sign of tolerance of the gay community.

“We want to fight for the right to be free,” she told the audience.

Curiously enough, there's been no public comment yet from the openly gay Elton John on Madonna's outspoken support of gay rights in Russia.

You can follow Craig Takeuchi on Twitter at twitter.com/cinecraig. You can also follow the Straight's LGBT coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/StraightLGBT.

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