David Banda, the 18-year-old son of pop diva Madonna, said he’s been “scavenging” for food as he lives with his girlfriend in New York City.
The teenager is embracing a new chapter in his life since moving out of his mother’s multi-million dollar address on the Upper East Side.
His comments sparked widespread concern online, prompting him to later clarify the claims about him and his mother.
Highlights
- Madonna's son, David Banda, said he’s been "scavenging" for food while living in NYC with his girlfriend.
- David later clarified that his famous mother is "very supportive" and he’s "happy" with life.
- Madonna's children, including David, are encouraged to be independent despite her vast wealth.
- Fans were delighted to see David and Madonna's other children join her onstage during her Celebration Tour.
In a revealing Instagram Live session, David spoke about living with his 21-year-old girlfriend and model, Maria Atuesta, and what it is like not having “enough money to get food.”
Madonna's son, David Banda, spoke about what life is like after moving out of his mother's luxurious Upper East Side apartment
Image credits: senzacacona
Image credits: senzacacona
“I love it. I’m not on my own, I’ve got my girlfriend. But I love it,” he said.
The independent young man is reportedly living in the Bronx at the moment. He is also making money by charging $200 for guitar lessons.
“It’s lovely to experience it being nine o’clock at night, me being hungry and realizing that I don’t have enough money to get food and scavenging. It’s fun to be young,” he added.
The internet had mixed reactions to the teenager’s comments.
“Well it’s time to grow up and be on his own, nothing wrong with that,” one said, while another wrote, “Madonna wants him to grow and understand how to make money and be independent. It’s a very good strategy.”
“It’s lovely to experience it being nine o’clock at night, me being hungry and realizing that I don’t have enough money to get food and scavenging,” the 18-year-old said in an Instagram Live session
Image credits: senzacacona
Others found his comments hard to digest, as they believe he can always fall back on his mother’s estimated $850 million net worth.
“Rich kids always want to have this unnecessary struggle…” one said.
Another wrote, "This is priceless……he can fall back on luxury anytime he gets tired of the 'fun.'"
Following the uproar online, David took to social media to clarify that his mother is “very supportive” of him and he is happy with life.
“My mother is very supportive of me. She has always been supportive of me. I am very happy in my life and I am not living out on the streets, starving!” he wrote in an Instagram Story. “Please stop worrying everything is good.”
David later clarified that his mother is "very supportive" and people can "stop worrying" about him
Image credits: senzacacona
Madonna is the proud mother of six children. She gave birth in 1996 to her eldest child, Lourdes Leon, whom she shares with fitness trainer Carlos Leon.
Rocco Ritchie, born in 2000, is the second child born to the Material Girl singer with her then-husband and director, Guy Ritchie.
In the late 2000s, the music icon welcomed her son David Banda from Malawi via adoption. She then went on to adopt her three youngest daughters—Chifundo “Mercy” James and twins Stella Ciccone and Estere Ciccone—also from Malawi.
The eldest of the six, Lourdes, once revealed that she had to pay for her own college tuition and apartment despite having one of the most famous musicians as her mother.
“We don’t get any handouts in my family. Obviously, I grew up with extreme privilege. There’s no denying that,” she told Interview Magazine in 2021. “But 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.’ Also, I feel like if your parents pay for things, then it gives them leverage over you.”
David was adopted by the Grammy winner from Malawi in the late 2000s
Image credits: senzacacona
“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.
When asked about a piece of advice from her mother that “really stuck” with her, the 27-year-old model and singer said: “She said something to me recently that has really stuck with me. I’ve been so concerned with making a decent living, and wanting to live more luxuriously than I was when I first graduated and wasn’t earning a lot of money.”
“She was like, ‘Remember, this shit is not real. It’s not about the money or your face or how hot you look. It’s about what you’re bringing into the world and what you’re going to leave behind.’ That always shakes me awake when I get too caught up in everything,” she continued.
During her Celebration Tour, Madonna had the company of her four youngest children on stage.
David shared a duet, Mother and Father, with his mother onstage, while Mercy joined her on the piano for Bad Girl. The twins were seen dancing on stage for Don’t Tell Me.
Fans were delighted to see the teenager share the stage with Madonna for her Celebration Tour, along with her three youngest daughters, Chifundo “Mercy” James and twins Stella Ciccone and Estere Ciccone
Image credits: madonna
“I have always been blessed with children who are interested in music, dance, and art,” the mother-of-six told W Magazine in April.
“Starting from the top with Lola,” she gushed. “Who was not only an incredible ballet dancer and a rhythmic gymnast, switching to musical theater and contemporary dance. Now she is a unique singer and song writer in her own right.”
“When I go on tour, nothing brings me more happiness to know, we are all working on the same show creating the magic together,” she added. “It would be boring if they were just traveling from hotel to hotel, and occasionally coming to watch the show. Of course, I am also their mother so sometimes we get on each other’s nerves. We are a family of artists but are also a family and that’s what happens.”
While talking about why she included her children in her Celebration Tour, she said, “It made perfect sense.”
The 4 Minutes singer has gushed about her six children's talents and how they have been playing music and dancing for years
Image credits: senzacacona
“As they all dance, and play musical instruments, and have been doing so for years. David has played guitar since he was a child,” the Hung Up singer said. “Mercy has played piano since she was eight and has been classically trained most of her life. Eventually, when I adopted the twins, they started to play piano and dance as well. There is always an endless parade of music and dance teachers coming and going in our house. And then we add to that Djing as Estere showed a keen interest in learning. She started taking DJ lessons and took it very seriously.”
The Grammy winner has admitted that motherhood is one of the toughest roles she has taken on in her entire life.
“Growing up with a mother like me is a challenge,” she said in her cover story for multiple European editions of Vanity Fair last year, according to Page Six.
“It has been the most difficult, the hardest battle,” she added.
“Today, I am still struggling to understand how to be a mother and do my job,” she said during the interview. “Because, whoever you are, having children and raising them is a work of art. And no one gives you a manual. You have to learn from mistakes. It is a profession that requires a lot of time. And it is exhausting because there is never rest.”
The internet had mixed reactions to David's recent comments, with some finding it hard to believe that Madonna would let her children "starve"
