Madonna Addresses Bullying, Proposes A Solution

Madonna, who has practically kept gossip columns afloat since the launch of her career, is now advocating an end to the gossip cycle.

Calling into Ellen DeGeneres' show Wednesday to discuss the recent bullying epidemic and spate of gay teen suicides, Madonna revealed that even an icon like herself felt alienated from her peers when she was growing up. She said she didn't find her niche until her gay ballet teacher took her under his wing, introduced her to other artists and helped her understand that "it was OK to be different."

She also compared the recent, "disturbing" trend of teenagers taking their own lives due to bullying to atrocities like the Holocaust.

"Think about it across the board," she said. "The concept that we are torturing teenagers because they are gay ... It's unfathomable. It's like lynching black people or Hitler exterminating Jews. Sorry if I'm going on a rampage right now, but this is America. The land of the free and the home of the brave...."

But, now that the problem has been identified, Madonna has an idea, everyone!

"I think it would be interesting for everybody to try one simple experiment," she said. "Try to get through the day each and every one of us ... without gossiping about somebody. Without gossiping about anybody. And not only that. Not even listening to gossip. Walking away from it. Can you imagine what your day would be like? How much more free time you'd have? I also feel like you'd feel about better about yourself..."

Sorry, Madonna. You lost us at around the "simple experiment" part... we got distracted by the latest Charlie Sheen news.

Madonna's solution to end bullying: Stop gossiping for one day [PopWatch/EW]