The Advocate story I told you about a while ago is finally out, a lengthy interview with Madonna by Ari Karpel fronted by this rather inventive '60s-rock poster inspired cover. (Not sure I understand the connection and it kind of plays up Madonna as aloof and untouchable, but it's at least a non-lazy way of making do with no exclusive cover photo.)

The theme of the interview is summed up in the title: "The Truth Is She Never Left You," a message lots of gay men need to hear considering the vocal minority who believe Madonna is somehow inauthentically supportive of LGBT people.

From here: Madonna with roomie/BFF Martin Burgoyne, who died of AIDS

On how the AIDS crisis informed her life, Madonna says:

"I was extremely affected by it. I remember lying on a bed with a friend of mine who was a musician, and he had been diagnosed with this kind of cancer, but nobody knew what it was. He was this beautiful man, and I watched him kind of waste away, and then another gay friend, and then another gay friend. They were all artists and all truly special and dear to me...I saw how people treated them differently. I saw the prejudices, and I think probably I got that confused with, intertwined with, you know, maybe things that...ways that people treated me differently."

Regarding her long, tumutuous love affair with the media, Madonna offers an interesting and candid assessment:

"I mean, I certainly don't engage [with the media] as much as I did. When people are writing about you in the beginning and they're saying nice things, you're like, 'Oh!' You feel this lift of energy. Then they say bad things, and of course, you're affected by that too...I used to be kind of fixated on it and think, It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair, but it is what it is, and I just have to get on with my life."

There's a lot more in the meaty article—click here to read.

And speaking of gay men and Madonna, don't miss her on Anderson today, though all this talk about her being nervous to do the Super Bowl is just making me nervous: