Lourdes Leon has revealed that her mum Madonna is a “control freak” who has “controlled me my whole life”.
Speaking to Interview Magazine, the 25-year-old opened up about gaining independence from her mother by paying for her own college fees and New York apartment.
“I needed to be completely independent from her as soon as I graduated high school,” she said.
She continued: “We don’t get any handouts in my family… obviously, I grew up with extreme privilege. There’s no denying that.”
“But I think my mum saw all these other kids of famous people, and she was like, ‘My kids are not going to be like this. Also, I feel like if your parents pay for things, then it gives them leverage over you.”
While Leon currently works as a model, she said she would like to also earn a living from other talents.
“My mum is very insistent on making me think about what I want to be known for beyond my looks… that’s not what I want people to remember me by. It’s not real,” she said.
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However, she continued on to say that, “financially, modeling is a smart decision. I enjoy being very hands on with the campaigns I do, so that I’m not just modeling, per see.”
“I dance, I have a very specific sense of style, and I’m interested in aesthetics, so I like to incorporate all those parts of myself into my projects… I don’t know how I feel about acting yet,” she said.
“As for music, I can sing…I just don’t care about it. Maybe it’s too close to home.”
Leon also admitted that she’s grown to appreciate the music of Madonna more as she’s gotten older.
“I don’t cringe,” she said, adding that with age she is “increasingly able to recognise how influential and amazing this woman is, and how empowering to other women and ahead of her time she has always been.”
“I didn’t fully comprehend that until I realised 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.”
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