Madonna Responds To Furor Over Malawian Adoption

Madonna denies she used her celebrity to bend adoption laws in Malawi over her bid to take custody of a one-year-old boy.

The pop star, in a statement responding to the furor over suggestions she was given special treatment, said she acted according to the country’s laws.

“We have gone about the adoption procedure according to the law, like anyone else who adopts a child. Reports to the contrary are totally inaccurate,” the singer said in the e-mailed statement.

The youngster, whose name is David Banda, arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport before dawn Tuesday and was reunited with the Material Girl shortly thereafter at her Hyde Park residence. Throngs of media descended on the area, hoping for a picture of the little one.

Madonna said she and her husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, initiated the adoption process “many months prior to our trip to Malawi” but insisted she wanted to keep the matter under wraps. Last week Malawi’s High Court granted the couple an interim adoption order giving them custody of the boy for 18 months.

The 48-year-old singer has said she agreed to an 18-month waiting period and hoped David, who’s spent most of his life thus far in an orphanage, would become her adopted son permanently after that.

Though government officials in Malawi didn’t take issue with the Material Girl’s wishes to adopt, child protection and human rights groups have challenged the custody order in an attempt to ensure that the correct process was followed and that the celebrity’s past charity work in Malawi didn’t have a bearing on the decision.

“After learning that there were over one million orphans in Malawi, it was my wish to open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death, as well as expand our family,” Madonna said.

“This was not a decision or commitment that my family or I take lightly.”

The youngster’s father, farmer Yohame Banda, put him in the orphanage after his mother died following the birth. Banda didn’t seem to have a problem with his child being taken care of by Madonna, saying that the controversy was sparked by “jealous” individuals.

The order did waive a law requiring prospective parents to live in Malawi for a year so social workers can determine whether they’re able to take care of the child.

Madonna joins fellow celebrities Mia Farrow, Angelina Jolie and Meg Ryan in adopting children from developing countries.

The pop star has two biological children, Lourdes, 9, and Rocco, 6.