Madonna has dropped the video for “Dark Ballet,” an aptly named visual featuring Mykki Blanco in the role of tortured Joan of Arc, who was sentenced to death at the age of 19.
In a statement on the visual, Madonna said, “[Joan of Arc] fought the English and she won, still the French were not happy. Still they judged her. They said she was a man, they said she was a lesbian, they said she was a witch, and, in the end, they burned her at the stake, and she feared nothing. I admire that.”
The video opens with a quote from the Famed French woman that reads: “One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying.”
The Emmanuel Adjei-directed video begins with Joan sobbing as she’s burned at the stake with witnesses looking on passively. Subsequently, the visual portrays her arrest and trial by church leaders.
In the monologue that ends the song, Madonna references streetwear retailer Supreme when she states, “Can’t you hear outside of your Supreme hoodie, the wind that’s beginning to howl?”
The song is the fifth single from her upcoming Madame X album, dropping June 14th. Thus far she’s released “Medellín” featuring Maluma, “I Rise,” “Crave” with Swae Lee and “Future,” her collaboration with Quavo and Diplo.
Check out the video below.
