(Oh, Go Ahead And Put Your Own Witty Play-On-A-Madonna-Song-Title Pun Here. The Only One I Know Is "Like A Virgin" And I Can't Make It Work For This Story)

Material Girl denied her newest pet.

(Okay, it's only the tabloid Mail, but any rag that sticks it to Madonna gets my support.)

It appears that the judge who denied the "adoption" did so on general residency grounds (and, most delightfully, quoted Chesterton in doing so). But it also seems plain that there was a good bit of "Jesus, we just can't stand this woman" sentiment behind it:

But the people of Malawi - family oriented and with traditional values - had concerns about this newly divorced woman who until a couple of weeks ago was going out with a 22-year-old model called Jesus.

The fact that before her divorce from Guy Ritchie she was worth an estimated £300million - he is believed to have taken around £50 million as part of the settlement - did not impress them.

Neither did her divorce. According to one source, Guy's name was originally on the adoption documents and he had planned to be Mercy's father - but the split put paid to that.

Then there was Mercy's family, who seem to have been pushed into something they didn't want, saying they repeatedly refused to agree to the adoption before finally relenting under the pressure placed on by them by government officials operating on Madonna's behalf.

Mercy's grandmother, Lucy, went so far as to accuse Madonna of 'stealing' the child. A couple of days later, Malawi's Human Rights Consultative Committee, a coalition of 85 non-governmental organisations, accused her of 'child kidnap' and of being a 'bully'.

'She has money, she has status, she is using her profile to manipulate the procedures,' said Undule Mwakasungula, its national co-ordinator.
But then, Madonna's arrogance has been on conspicuous display all week. Her wild extravagances in this desperately poor country are insensitive and really rather impolite.

Three days ago, for example, Madonna went to Blantyre to see the orphanage where newborn Mercy was placed following the death of her mother.
Blantyre is a three-hour drive from Lilongwe. Early Wednesday morning, a convoy of the singer's staff set off from their luxury lodge for the scenic drive across country.

Madonna did not go with them. The 50-year-old had another important commitment that morning - her two-hour workout under the tutelage of Josh, the personal trainer she has also brought with her.

Madonna a bad mom? Gee, ya think?

UPDATE: WOOT! I got me a comment troll!