Lourdes Leon Calls Mom Madonna A 'Control Freak'

Lourdes Leon has called her mom Madonna a “control freak.” In a recent chat with Interview Magazine, Leon talked about growing up as Madonna’s daughter and explained why she sought independence at a young age.

The 24-year-old model revealed she felt like she needed to break away from her mom after graduating high school because she wanted to gain a sense of autonomy. “I think my mom saw all these other kids of famous people, and she was like, ‘My kids are not going to be like this,’” she explained.

“Also, I feel like if your parents pay for things, then it gives them the leverage over you. My mom is such a control freak, and she has controlled me my whole life. I needed to be completely independent from her as soon as I graduated high school,” she added.

In an earlier interview with Vogue, Leon revealed that she paid her own college tuition while living alone in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. As she grew older, however, she came to admire her mother’s work ethic, especially “how empowering to other women and ahead of her time she has always been.”

According to Leon, it wasn’t until she grew completely independent from her mom that she realized how admirable Madonna is as a woman.

“I didn’t fully comprehend that until I realized the importance of empowerment and what it means to be a woman. She’s probably the hardest worker I’ve ever seen. I didn’t inherit that, unfortunately. I inherited her control issues, but not her work ethic!” she said.

Madonna is also mom to Rocco, 21, David, 15, Mercy, 15 and twins Estere and Stella, 9. In a 2017 interview with People, she talked about her role as a mother to her children and all the challenges that come with it.

“I had this funny notion that when your children get older, they learn to take care of themselves and it gets easier,” she said. “But actually the older they get, the more challenging it gets—because now they’re becoming adults, and they really need guidance.”