American pop star Madonna will donate damages she and her adopted children have won from a British newspaper to The Mercy James Institute for Paediatric Surgery.
The amount of money the musician and her four-year-old twin daughters, Stella and Estere, have won has not been disclosed but it will be donated to the facility which was opened last month. The centre is named after Madonna’s daughter Mercy who was also adopted from Malawi.
Madonna and her daughters won the damages after the musician sued a British newspaper over an article that had caused her “considerable personal distress” but following the decision to donate the money to the facility Madonna’s lawyer Jenny Afia said the musician is “pleased that at least some good can come out of the situation.”
Madonna took the newspaper MailOnline to court after it published in January the race, age and names of the twins before the musician had adopted them. Madonna adopted the children in February.
The publication also revealed in the story that the children lived in an orphanage in Malawi and were the subject of pending applications for adoption by the singer.
During the hearing, Afia told the court that the article was published at a time when the media ought to have appreciated that Madonna would be powerless to protect the girls from harm.
“Their actions could, in her view, have threatened the integrity and/or outcome of the adoption process which would have had potentially life-changing implications for the girls, as well as for Madonna and her family.
“In the circumstances, Madonna believes that it would (and should) have been self-evident to the reporter that the protection of the girls’ identities pending the decision about their potential adoption was likely to be vital for their safety and welfare,” she said.
