New Book Reveals Jackie Kennedy Onassis' Big Problem With Madonna

A new biography of the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis  explains why she had a big problem with the singer Madonna .

J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of “Jackie: Public, Private, Secret,” told People this week that the former first lady wasn’t thrilled when her son John F. Kennedy, Jr. had a fling with the singer in the late 1980s .

Although it was rumored that Onassis didn’t like Madonna’s resemblance to Marilyn Monroe, Taraborrelli said that wasn’t the issue.

“[Jackie’s] problem with [Madonna] was that she was married,” Taraborrelli told People. 

There was another issue, he added: Onassis didn’t understand Madonna’s need for attention.

“Jackie had spent her entire celebrity life avoiding paparazzi, whereas Madonna would court paparazzi,” the biographer said. “And Jackie just couldn’t understand any of that.” 

Onassis agreed to attend a play Madonna was starring in with her son, but only after putting on a red wig so she wouldn’t be recognized. She declined to go backstage after it was over.

“She didn’t want to validate the relationship that John had with Madonna by being photographed,” Taraborrelli said. 

Singer Carly Simon, one of Onassis’ close friends, previously shared that the former first lady was concerned with her son’s dating the pop star. 

“Jackie was very consumed with getting him on the right path,” Simon told People in 2019 . “She didn’t approve of some of [the women] — she was horrified by Madonna.”