Justify My Love#Charts

By the end of 1990, Madonna was ready to release her first greatest hits collection, titled The Immaculate Collection, after becoming the biggest female singles artist in history, with the most number-one and top-ten hit songs by a woman in both the United States and the United Kingdom.{{harvnb|McAleer|1990|p=109}}{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-11-10.pdf|title=Finally. A greatest hits album that lives up to its name.|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|volume=102|issue=45|page=2|date=November 10, 1990|access-date=March 24, 2021|archive-date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307174744/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-11-10.pdf|url-status=live}} According to J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography, the release was "much more than a mere collection of Madonna's biggest-selling and most popular songs". The singer regarded it as a "proud landmark" of her career, which had progressed upwards since she broke out in the music scene in 1983.{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2018|p=202}} Following the completion of 1990's Blond Ambition World Tour, Madonna began rushing the project, aiming to release it in time for the year's Christmas season.{{harvnb|Bego|2000|p=256}} On October 13, 1990, Billboard magazine confirmed that Madonna had been working on new material for the album with Shep Pettibone and Lenny Kravitz.{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-10-13.pdf|title=Inner City On 'Fire'; Capitol Catches Disco Fever|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|page=31|volume=102|issue=41|first=Larry|last=Flick|date=October 13, 1990|access-date=March 24, 2021|archive-date=March 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307135635/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-10-13.pdf|url-status=live}} The collection had 15 of Madonna's previously released singles, and two new songs, "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me", were included in order to generate the public's interest.{{harvnb|Rooksby|2004|p=82}}

"Justify My Love" was released as the lead single from The Immaculate Collection on November 6, 1990.{{cite web|last=Mackie|first=Drew|url=https://people.com/celebrity/justify-my-love-turns-25-20-things-you-didnt-know/|title=Video: 'Justify My Love,' 25 Years Later – A Short History of the Song, the Controversy and, Yes, the Sex|date=November 2, 1990|accessdate=August 7, 2020|work=People|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220810212221/https://people.com/celebrity/justify-my-love-turns-25-20-things-you-didnt-know/|archivedate=August 10, 2022|url-status=live}} It was issued on the UK on December 1,{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1990/MW-1990-11-24+Brits-1991.pdf|title=madonna: justify my love|date=November 24, 1990|accessdate=January 20, 2023|magazine=Music Week|issn=0265-1548|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220828063414/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1990/MW-1990-11-24+Brits-1991.pdf

|archivedate=August 28, 2022|url-status=live}} and in Japan on December 10.{{cite web|url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/162927/products/311142/1/|script-title=ja:ジャスティファイ・マイ・ラブ|language=Japanese|publisher=Oricon|date=December 10, 1990|access-date=January 20, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120172906/https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/162927/products/311142/1/|archivedate=January 20, 2023|url-status=live}} The artwork for the single, photographed by Patrick Demarchelier and directed by Jeri Heiden, features a picture of Madonna aggressively leaning forward, wearing a sleeveless waistcoast with her hair scrunched up under a black cap, an aggressive expression on her face, and a cigarette hanging out of her lips. Carol Clerk, author of Madonnastyle, opined that "it was a particularly masculine pose; Madonna, at times, could look as butch as the next man".{{harvnb|Clerk|2002|p=102}} The picture had previously appeared on the cover of an Interview magazine issue which featured an interview with Madonna, and later was removed from the French version of the single.{{harvnb|Rettenmund|1995|p=16}} Afterwards, the song was included on Madonna's third greatest hits album Celebration (2009), and as a remixed form on Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones (2022).{{cite web |title='Celebration' – Track listing for CD & DVD announced|url=https://www.madonna.com/news/title/celebration--track-listing-for-cd--dvd-announced |publisher=Icon: Official Madonna website |access-date=10 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102085012/https://www.madonna.com/news/title/celebration--track-listing-for-cd--dvd-announced |archive-date=January 2, 2010|date=August 25, 2009}}{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2022/05/madonna-greatest-hits-50-number-ones-compilation/|title=New Madonna Collections To Spotlight 40 Years Of Club Hits|work=Spin|last=Cohen|first=Jonathan|date=May 4, 2022|access-date=April 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504140457/https://www.spin.com/2022/05/madonna-greatest-hits-50-number-ones-compilation/|archive-date=May 4, 2022|url-status=live}}

File:Lenny Kravitz - Rock in Rio Madrid 2012 - 43 (cropped).jpg co-wrote and produced "Justify My Love".]]

"Justify My Love" was written by singer and songwriter Ingrid Chavez as a love letter dedicated to Kravitz, who was having an affair with her at the time. He invited her over to a studio where he was producing tracks with André Betts, and then recorded the letter in one take. Kravitz took a master copy of the song to Virgin Records, as their relationship ended some time later.{{harvnb|O'Brien|2018|pp=214–215}} Months later, he told Chavez that Madonna would release "Justify My Love" and asked her to sign a document saying that she would receive 12.5% publishing royalties, but no credit. She eventually signed the paper and was then invited to meet Madonna in the studio while they mixed the track, and was impressed by how she copied her vocals exactly from the demo version; Chavez thought that "maybe she just felt like she didn't want another woman to take credit for the creative style of the vocal".{{harvnb|O'Brien|2018|pp=216}}

Upon the song's release, Chavez filed a lawsuit against them, claiming the only words Kravitz wrote were "justify my love", while Madonna changed one line. It was also reported that she only received a US$500 advance after Kravitz pressured her to sign an agreement surrendering credit and three-quarters of royalties.{{cite magazine|last=Ressner|first=Jeffrey|url=https://ew.com/article/1991/08/16/justify-my-love-2/|title='Justify My Love'|date=August 16, 1991|accessdate=August 7, 2020|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822114905/https://ew.com/article/1991/08/16/justify-my-love-2/|archivedate=August 22, 2022|url-status=live}} He admitted that Chavez had written part of the lyrics, but both had agreed not to credit her for personal and professional reasons, and accused her of trying to "make like she did the whole thing" upon the single's success. She responded by stating that the reason was because he was afraid his wife would think they were having an affair. They eventually reached an out-of-court settlement whereby she received 12.5% percent of royalties and her name on the next pressings. However, her name does not appear on any compilations containing the song.{{harvnb|O'Brien|2018|p=218}} Betts also sued Kravitz, claiming he was promised co-producer credit and half of any producer's royalties, but received an associate producer's credit and was not paid for his work.

Kravitz recalled that he had been working on demos, and the demo version of "Justify My Love" came up. At first, he thought it was "super-sexy and hard at the same time. I just felt it. I just knew that there was something very special about the track and the minimum quality, because it was so minimal. Just a gut thing". However, he "knew it wasn't for me", but thought it would be perfect for Madonna, and phoned her saying he had a number-one song for her. The same day, they met in New York City, where Kravitz played the demo for her. After listening to the song multiple times, Madonna agreed on recording, and both started working on it the next day. Kravitz described the recording session as "just the two of us and my engineers, and it happened in one day. It was very quick", adding it was fun and "all very authentic".{{cite web|last=Parker|first=Lindsey|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lenny-kravitz-talks-justify-my-love-let-love-rule-214013302.html|title=Lenny Kravitz talks 'very sensual' 'Justify My Love' recording session with Madonna, new memoir and 30 years of letting love rule|date=December 2, 2020|accessdate=January 18, 2023|publisher=Yahoo!|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124134742/https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/lenny-kravitz-talks-justify-my-love-let-love-rule-214013302.html|archivedate=November 24, 2022|url-status=live}}

"Justify My Love" was written by Kravitz and Chavez, with additional lyrics by Madonna; he also produced the song alongside André Betts. It was recorded by Henry Hirsch, David Domanich, Andy Cardenas, and Josh Cuervokas at Waterfront Studios in London, and Unique Recording Studios in New York City. Ted Jensen mastered the song at Sterling Sound Studios, while it was mixed by Shep Pettibone and Goh Hotoda at Guerilla Studios in London. The mixing was done in QSound, which at that time was a new audio filter to create a three-dimensional sound effect. This was employed on all of Madonna's past hits present on The Immaculate Collection.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6575923/vogue-producer-shep-pettibone-interview|title='Vogue' Producer Shep Pettibone's First Interview in 20 Years: On Making a Madonna Classic & Why He Left Music Behind|last=Caulfield|first=Keith|date=May 22, 2015|access-date=June 2, 2018|magazine=Billboard|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180404192911/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6575923/vogue-producer-shep-pettibone-interview|archive-date=April 4, 2018}}

{{listen

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| title = 'Justify My Love'

| description = A 30 second sample of the song, where Madonna sings the song's chorus, uttering the words "wanting, needing, waiting" before the double-tracked line "for you to justify my love".{{harvnb|Whiteley|2000|p=144}}

| pos = left

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"Justify My Love" is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 132 beats per minute. Composed in the key of B minor, Madonna's vocal range spans from A₄ to D₅. It follows the chord progression of E5–F{{music|sharp}}5–E5–F{{music|sharp}}5 during the opening melody.{{cite web|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0037595|title=Digital Sheet Music – Madonna – Justify My Love|date=13 November 2001 |publisher=Musicnotes.com|accessdate=August 6, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727013930/https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0037595|archivedate=July 27, 2022|url-status=live}} Musically, it is a hip hop, dance, trip-hop, and experimental pop song,{{cite news|last=Bennett|first=Dan|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/572521398/|title=Madonna's 'Collection' contains her greatest hits|date=November 30, 1990|accessdate=January 21, 2023|work=North County Blade-Citizen|url-access=subscription|pages=4, 15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103151908/https://www.newspapers.com/image/572521398/|archive-date=January 3, 2023|url-status=live}} {{subscription required}} which features spoken word vocals by Madonna and Kravitz's "moans" on background vocals. It contains a drum sample of Public Enemy's "Security of the First World" (1988) used initially without consent, and the group threatened to take legal action against both singers; however, music industry members believed the drum beat was sampled from James Brown's single "Funky Drummer" (1970), but these claims were denied by the group's producer, Hank Shocklee.{{cite magazine|last=Givens|first=Ron|url=https://ew.com/article/1991/02/01/controversy-over-justify-my-love/|title=Controversy over 'Justify My Love'|date=February 2, 1991|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|accessdate=August 7, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819175644/https://ew.com/article/1991/02/01/controversy-over-justify-my-love/|archivedate=August 19, 2022|url-status=live}} A spokeswoman for Madonna said she never had heard their song and "didn't write the music" for "Justify My Love", while Kravitz dismissed the claims by saying, "It's just one of those beats you find on the floor somewhere."{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1459150/lenny-kravitz-waffles-about-madonna-song-david-lee-roth-gives-more-than-enough-inxs-on-tour-this-week-in-1990/|title=Lenny Kravitz Waffles About Madonna song, David Lee Roth Gives More Than Enough, INXS On Tour: This Week In 1990|date=December 13, 2002|access-date=August 7, 2020|publisher=MTV News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211206020312/http://www.mtv.com/news/1459150/lenny-kravitz-waffles-about-madonna-song-david-lee-roth-gives-more-than-enough-inxs-on-tour-this-week-in-1990/|archive-date=December 6, 2021|url-status=dead}}

Lyrically, "Justify My Love" was described as a "spoken-word ode to releasing your inner freak".{{cite magazine |last1=Arnold |first1=Chuck |title=Madonna's 60 best singles, ranked |url=https://ew.com/music/2018/08/15/madonnas-60-best-singles-ranked/ |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=July 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815230537/https://ew.com/music/2018/08/15/madonnas-60-best-singles-ranked/ |archive-date=August 15, 2018 |date=August 15, 2018}} Madonna starts singing the lines "I wanna kiss you in Paris, I wanna hold your hand in Rome, I wanna run naked in a rainstorm, make love in a train... cross country".{{harvnb|Metz|Benson|1999|p=207}} The chorus changes its atmosphere, as the singer's breathing vocals initially punctuate the "wanting, needing, waiting" line, which prefaces the double-tracked "for you to justify my love", with the words "my love" being repeated in the background. The second verse begins with her uttering "OK", suggesting a move in direction, reflected by the line "I wanna know you... no, not like that". On the next verse, Madonna utters the lines "Talk to me, tell me your dreams / Am I in them? Tell me your fears / Are you scared? Tell me your stories",{{cite book|first1=Tony Berber|last1=Sardinha|first2=Marcia Veirano|last2=Pinto|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G9AZBAAAQBAJ&dq=Justify%20My%20Love%20by%20Madonna&pg=PA156|title=Multi-Dimensional Analysis, 25 Years on: A Tribute to Douglas Biber|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|access-date=January 20, 2023|date=2014|url-access=limited|isbn=978-9027270153|via=Google Books|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120174653/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Multi_Dimensional_Analysis_25_years_on/G9AZBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Justify%20My%20Love%20by%20Madonna&pg=PA156&printsec=frontcover|archive-date=January 20, 2023|url-status=live}} implying the position of a woman sexually in control, which is reinforced by the line "Poor is the man whose pleasures depend upon the permission of another", with its underlying connotations of domination through the lyrics "Love me, that's right, love me / I wanna be your baby". Scholar Sheila Whiteley noted in her book Women and Popular Music: Sexuality, Identity, and Subjectivity that the song's lyrics "imply an overall focus on sexual fantasy" with "implicit S&M of pleasuring allied to permission", suggesting that certain pleasures need to be justified.{{harvnb|Whiteley|2000|p=145}}

Taraborrelli described the composition as "rather simple – a funky, drum pattern under a droning, aural synthesizer pad, with Madonna speaking sexy verses over the music, Kravitz casually moaning a melody in the background". In a similar vein, Rikky Rooksby wrote on his book Madonna: The Complete Guide to Her Music that the elements on the song were "simple enough: a drum loop that repeats for the duration of the song, a bass part, and a descending four chord sequence moving from F♯ minor to B minor", whose melody "doesn't exactly go anywhere, but it creates a hypnotic atmosfere which supports the imagery of the lyric". Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, in their book Madonna's Drowned Worlds, stated that it was "far from an ordinary pop song", featuring "a very simple tonal structure and the same bassline", with the same chords repeated over and over. They also noted its "little melodic interest", with Madonna speaking more than she sang through her "distant, remote, 'elsewhere'" androgynous vocals.{{harvnb|Fouz-Hernández|Jarman-Ivens|2004|p=29}} Tom Breiham from Stereogum later classified "Justify My Love" as "an early example of trip-hop", and pointed out that Madonna deserves credit for "anticipating whole new trends before they even happened."

"Justify My Love" received a remix titled "The Beast Within", and was included on some versions of the single. Musically influenced by Eastern music, the remix featured only the chorus and certain lines of the original song, as most of the verses were replaced by passages from the Book of Revelation from the Bible.{{cite magazine|last=Rosen|first=Craig|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-01-19.pdf#page=5|title=Madonna Flap, Part 2: Anti- Semitism?|date=January 19, 1991|accessdate=August 5, 2020|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|page=5|volume=103|issue=3|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118205057/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-01-19.pdf|archivedate=January 18, 2023|url-status=live}} At the time, Madonna told The Village Voice that "the beast within" was Saddam Hussein and that the mix was inspired by "the impending war in the Middle East". About a third of the way into the six-minute song, Madonna reads the line "I know your tribulation and your poverty and the slander of those who say that they are Jews, but they are not. They are a Synagogue of Satan", which was deemed anti-semitic by some Jewish organizations. According to Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, "When we saw those lyrics the alarm bell went off", as "the impact of having America's leading cultural icon say those lyrics can give a powerful tool to bigots". He also commented, "Anti-Semitism is a real problem in America today and an entertainer as big of a blockbuster as Madonna should show some responsibility to such social issues."{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-04-ca-7949-story.html|title=Anger Over Madonna Single|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 4, 1991|accessdate=September 18, 2016|first=Chuck|last=Philips|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406160302/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-04-ca-7949-story.html|archivedate=April 6, 2019|url-status=live}} Cooper sent a letter to the singer's management, and initially asked for the line to be removed from the song. Madonna was reportedly shocked by the controversy, calling the accusations "ridiculous" and stating: "People can say I am an exhibitionist, but no one can ever accuse me of being a racist". She then elaborated that it was "a commentary on evil in general": "The song is, after all, about love." The rabbi replied that she responded quickly to the issue, and was relieved that she did so.{{cite web|last=|first=|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/05/arts/madonna-refutes-rabbi-s-accusation-of-anti-semitism-in-a-song-lyric.html|title=Madonna Refutes Rabbi's Accusation Of Anti-Semitism in a Song Lyric|date=January 5, 1991|accessdate=August 5, 2020|work=The New York Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623041933/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/05/arts/madonna-refutes-rabbi-s-accusation-of-anti-semitism-in-a-song-lyric.html|archivedate=June 23, 2011}}

File:Donna Summer (1977 Casablanca publicity headshot).jpg's (pictured) tracks by Billboard and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.]]

Upon release, "Justify My Love" was met with generally positive responses from music critics. Larry Flick of Billboard magazine gave a positive review, calling it a "brilliantly conceived jam", which would be "devoured by club DJs" and "may test the devotion of top 40 radio programmers".{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-11-17.pdf#page=79|title=Single Reviews|date=November 17, 1990|accessdate=August 6, 2020|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|volume=102|issue=46|page=77|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806182319/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-11-17.pdf|archivedate=August 6, 2020|url-status=live}} Another review from the same magazine stated that the song was a "steamy" collaboration between Madonna and Kravitz, and it had "the juice to become the '90s equivalent of Donna Summer's 'Love To Love You Baby'", and noted that it "strays miles away from the chirpy pop of her past."{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-11-17.pdf#page=22|title=Dance Trax|date=November 17, 1990|accessdate=August 6, 2020|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|volume=102|issue=46|page=26|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806182319/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-11-17.pdf|archivedate=August 6, 2020|url-status=live}} Chuck Campbell from the Knoxville News-Sentinel said it was "so seductive it makes George Michael's 'I Want Your Sex' and Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love' sound like nursery rhymes".{{cite news|last=Campbell|first=Chuck|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/774933020/|title=A pair of new tracks justify Madonna's disc|date=November 21, 1990|accessdate=January 21, 2023|newspaper=The Knoxville News-Sentinel|page=B|url-access=subscription|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131233258/https://www.newspapers.com/image/774933020/|archivedate=January 31, 2023|url-status=live}} {{subscription required}} Music & Media staff commented that the "unlikely" collaboration of Madonna and Kravitz was a "marriage made in heaven", as well as "atmospheric, yet brutal in an unconventional manner".{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1990/MM-1990-12-01.pdf|title=Previews: Singles - Single Of The Week|magazine=Music & Media|date=December 1, 1990|page=18|access-date=November 3, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003153219/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1990/MM-1990-12-01.pdf|archivedate=October 3, 2022|url-status=live}} On her biography of the singer, author Lucy O'Brien stated that the track "opened up a new creative avenue for Madonna, as she moved into more 'adult' territory". Similarly, Rooksby wrote that "Justify My Love" was a pivotal record for the singer, pointing her musical direction into the 1990s decade, giving her old disco sound "the kiss of death".{{harvnb|Rooksby|2004|p=83}} Select{{'}}s Andrew Harrison considered the song "breathy, pulsing and overpoweringly sexy", which, along with "Rescue Me", played on Madonna's "ambiguous vulnerability, the disqueting mix of sexual predation and submission that gives Madonna's records an edge where Paula Abdul's just have a verse and chorus".{{cite journal|title=Madonna: The Immaculate Progression|last=Harrison|first=Andrew|date=January 1991|journal=Select|issn=0959-8367|pages=41–42|volume=7|issue=1}} Taraborrelli commented that the track "oozed pungent sex, it was just that passionate",{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2018|p=209}} while J.D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun noted its "simmering passion".{{cite web|last=Considine|first=J.D.|authorlink=J.D. Considine|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1990-11-16-1990320070-story.html|title=The Immaculate Collection - Madonna (Sire 26440)|date=November 16, 1990|accessdate=January 18, 2023|work=The Baltimore Sun|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712043654/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1990-11-16-1990320070-story.html|archivedate=July 12, 2021|url-status=live}}

In an album guide for Rolling Stone, "Justify My Love" was described along with "Rescue Me" as "worthy sensual newies" on The Immaculate Collection.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/madonna/albumguide|title=Madonna: Album Guide|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=August 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110705190231/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/madonna/albumguide|archive-date=July 5, 2011|url-status=dead}} Matthew Rettenmund, author of Encyclopedia Madonnica, opined that the track "foreshadowed Madonna's long-term commitment to explicitly politi-sexual art in the wake of an already suggestive career", and that "it sounded like nothing else on the airwaves at the time". He also opined that along with "Rescue Me", it was disappointing that the tracks were "originated on a best-of" album.{{harvnb|Rettenmund|1995|pp=88–91}} Danny Eccleston from Q opined that "Justify My Love" had a "hard-faced sexiness",{{cite journal|last=Eccleston|first=Danny|date=March 1998|title=Disco-Graphy|journal=Q|issn=0955-4955|issue=138|page=92}} while Music Week staff called it a "mumbling sexy judderer".{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1990/MW-1990-12-08.pdf|title=Dance|magazine=Music Week|date=December 8, 1990|page=13|access-date=November 2, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928050729/https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1990/MW-1990-12-08.pdf|archivedate=September 28, 2022|url-status=live}} For Tony Power of Blender, the song was "preposterously sexy", and he picked it as one of the standout tracks on The Immaculate Collection.{{cite news|last=Power|first=Tony|url=http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_2346.html |title=Madonna - The Immaculate Collection|date=September 2003|accessdate=August 5, 2020|work=Blender|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040818000324/http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_2346.html|archivedate=August 18, 2004|url-status=dead}} Fouz-Hernández and Jarman-Ivens wrote that Madonna's style of singing on the track seemed controlled and distant, and added that "the background moaning, which is intended to remind the listener of copulation, is a key memorable feature".{{harvnb|Fouz-Hernández|Jarman-Ivens|2004|p=42}} Writing for Entertainment Weekly, Jim Farber described the song as "some vague, tuneless phrases chanted in Madonna's most breathless voice over a minimal house groove-serves mainly to justify the visuals";{{cite magazine|last=Farber|first=Jim|url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318863,00.html|title=It's Bad. But Is It Good?|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=December 14, 1990|accessdate=January 16, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829114102/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,318863,00.html|archivedate=August 29, 2007|url-status=dead}} while reviewing The Immaculate Collection, David Browne from the same magazine called it "instantly notorious" but noted that along with "Rescue Me", it did not "[break] new ground for her".{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1990/12/14/immaculate-collection/|title=The Immaculate Collection|first=David|last=Browne|date=December 14, 1990|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=September 8, 2022|archive-date=September 8, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908100654/https://ew.com/article/1990/12/14/immaculate-collection/|url-status=live}} In 1992, "Justify My Love" won a ASCAP Pop Music Award for "Most Performed Song".{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-05-30.pdf#page=16|title=ASCAP Honors Top Pop Performers|access-date=March 2, 2020|date=May 30, 1992|last=Rosen|first=Craig|magazine=Billboard|volume=104|number=22|page=16|issn=0006-2510|archive-date=September 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926233034/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1992/Billboard-1992-05-30.pdf#page=16|url-status=live}}

Retrospective reviews have been positive. While analyzing The Immaculate Collection, Drew Mackie of People consisidered the song a "sexy, daring track that's not quite like anything Madonna had released before".{{cite web|last=Mackie|first=Drew|url=https://people.com/celebrity/madonnas-immaculate-collection-turns-25-all-17-tracks-ranked/|title=Video: Madonna's 'Immaculate Collection' Turns 25: All 17 Tracks Ranked|date=October 5, 2016|accessdate=January 18, 2023|work=People|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604135100/https://people.com/celebrity/madonnas-immaculate-collection-turns-25-all-17-tracks-ranked/|archivedate=June 4, 2022|url-status=live}} Katharine Birbalsingh from The Daily Telegraph opined that it was an "insistent, sexy trance track".{{cite web|last=Birbalsingh|first=Katharine|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/madonnas-15-albums-ranked-from-worst-to-best/immaculate-collection/|title=Madonna's 15 albums ranked from worst to best – 1. The Immaculate Collection (1990)|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=May 17, 2016|accessdate=August 6, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629153357/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/madonnas-15-albums-ranked-from-worst-to-best/immaculate-collection/|archivedate=June 29, 2016|url-status=live}} James Rose of Daily Review noted that with the song Madonna began "a phase of her career that oscillates between cynical self-exploitation and courageous self-expression. Raunchy videos, explicitly themed lyrics and boudoir beats became de rigueur for the lady now arguably bearing the biggest name in popular music."{{cite web|url=https://dailyreview.com.au/25-years-since-madonnas-immaculate-collection/33938/|title=25 Year's Since – Madonna's Immaculate Collection|last=Rose|first=James|date=November 29, 2015|publisher=Daily Review|access-date=June 2, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210908/http://dailyreview.com.au/25-years-since-madonnas-immaculate-collection/33938|archive-date=March 3, 2016}} In a review for Celebration, Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine called the track "aromatic" and "considered by most fans to be among the singer's best work".{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-celebration/|title=Review: Madonna, Celebration|last=Henderson|first=Eric|date=September 23, 2009|accessdate=August 6, 2020|work=Slant Magazine|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225132014/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/madonna-celebration/|archivedate=December 25, 2022|url-status=live}} According to The A.V. Club{{'}}s Eric Diaz, it remained "one of Madonna's sexiest bangers, setting the stage not only for her still-underrated Erotica era but her tireless capacity to transform and provoke".{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/madonna-number-one-songs-ranked-greatest-hits-1849418788/slides/6|title=Get into the groove: ranking Madonna's #1 songs|last1=Diaz|first1=Eric|last2=Gillis|first2=Drew|last3=Gilchrist|first3=Todd|date=August 18, 2022|accessdate=January 18, 2023|work=The A.V. Club|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119011416/https://www.avclub.com/madonna-number-one-songs-ranked-greatest-hits-1849418788/slides/6|archivedate=January 19, 2023|url-status=live}} Justin Myers from Official Charts Company considered the track "filthy for the time but pretty tame now".{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonnas-lead-singles-ranked__26119/|title=Madonna's lead singles ranked|last=Myers|first=Justin|date=April 24, 2019|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=January 20, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424072725/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonnas-lead-singles-ranked__26119/|archive-date=April 24, 2019|url-status=live}} Additionally, "Justify My Love" was classified her 12th best on Madonna's top 20 singles of all-time list by Q magazine,{{cite journal|date=December 9, 2003|title=Top 20 Madonna Singles of All-time|journal=Q|volume=19|issue=23|page=87|issn=0955-4955}} as well as placed at number 842 in the list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever" by the same publication.{{cite journal|title=1001 Best Songs Ever|journal=Q|last=Trynka|first=Paul|year=2003|issue=Special edition|issn=0955-4955}}

File:MDNA 7581415740.jpg. In the image, dancers are seen performing during the "Justify My Love" video interlude on The MDNA Tour in 2012.]]

In the US, "Justify My Love" debuted at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, on the issue dated November 17, 1990.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1990-11-17|title=The Hot 100|accessdate=August 5, 2020|date=November 17, 1990|magazine=Billboard|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117193841/https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1990-11-17/|archivedate=November 17, 2022|url-status=live}} Eight weeks later, the song reached number one, becoming Madonna's ninth number-one single on the chart, staying in the summit for two weeks.{{cite magazine|last=Grein|first=Paul|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-01-05.pdf#page=8|title=Will Simpsons' Success Make Ice Blue? 'Wolves' Soundtrack Dances Up Charts|date=January 5, 1991|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|accessdate=August 8, 2020|volume=103|issue=1|page=8|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226032215/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-01-05.pdf|archivedate=December 26, 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1991-01-12|title=The Hot 100|accessdate=August 5, 2020|date=January 12, 1991|magazine=Billboard|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527220857/https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1991-01-12/|archivedate=May 27, 2022|url-status=live}} It also topped Billboard{{'}}s Dance Club Play chart and peaked at number 42 on the Hot R&B Singles chart. On February 22, 1991, the song was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over a million units in the US. In 1991, "Justify My Love" ranked at number 21 on the year-end Billboard Hot 100 chart. In Canada, the song debuted at number 12 on the RPM 100 Hit Tracks chart and reached the top on the week dated February 2, 1991. The track eventually received a gold certification by Music Canada (MC) for shipments of 50,000 copies in the region.

In Australia, "Justify My Love" debuted at number 14 on the ARIA Singles Chart on December 2, 1990. The next weeks, it peaked at number four, staying in the position for two weeks. The single was present for a total of 12 weeks on the chart, and was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments of 35,000 copies of the single. In New Zealand, the song had a similar run as to Australia, debuting at number 22 on the RIANZ Singles Chart, and peaking at number five for two consecutive weeks.

In the UK, the track debuted at number nine on the week ending on December 8, 1990, and reached number two a week later.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19901202/7501/|title=Official Singles Chart Top 100|accessdate=August 5, 2020|publisher=Official Charts Company|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526040143/https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/19901202/7501/|archivedate=May 26, 2022|url-status=live}} It was also certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on December 1, 1990, for shipments of over 200,000 copies in the UK. As of August 2017, the song had sold 275,500 copies in the region and was Madonna's 23rd best selling single there.{{cite web|last=Myers|first=Justin|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-s-official-top-40-biggest-selling-singles__8266/|title=Madonna's Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Singles|publisher=Official Charts Company|date=August 16, 2017|accessdate=August 5, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925091644/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/madonna-s-official-top-40-biggest-selling-singles__8266/|archivedate=September 25, 2022|url-status=live}} The song also achieved success in other parts of Europe. In Austria, "Justify My Love" debuted at number 21 on the week of January 13, 1991, before peaking at number nine within a month. On December 17, 1990, the song debuted at number 50 in Germany, eventually peaking at number 10 for two weeks. The song debuted at number 16 in Sweden, later reaching number eight. In Switzerland, it experienced more success, debuting at number 12 on January 13, 1991, and peaking at number three for two weeks. The song's commercial performance in the European countries helped it attain a peak of number three on the Eurochart Hot 100, on the issue dated January 12, 1991.

File:Hôtel Royal Monceau.jpg

The music video for "Justify My Love" was filmed within three days in November 1990 at the Royal Monceau Hotel in Paris, France.{{cite magazine|last=Svetkey|first=Benjamin|url=https://archive.org/details/entertainment-weekly-044-1990-12-14-madonna-c/page/n17/mode/2up|title=Some Like It Hot... Some Not|date=December 14, 1990|accessdate=January 18, 2023|pages=14–19|issn=1049-0434|issue=44|magazine=Entertainment Weekly}} It was directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino, who had previously directed the video for Madonna's "Open Your Heart" (1987).{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/28/arts/madonna-video-goes-too-far-for-mtv.html|work=The New York Times|first=Stephen|last=Holden|title=Madonna Video Goes Too Far for MTV|date=November 28, 1990|accessdate=August 7, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403014652/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/28/arts/madonna-video-goes-too-far-for-mtv.html|archivedate=April 3, 2012|url-status=live}} The clip was produced by Philippe Dupuis-Mendel under Bandits, in a co-production with Propaganda Films, with editing by Oliver Gajan and principal photography by Pascal Lebegue.{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=VHS|publisher=Warner Music Vision|id=759938224.3}} The video features Madonna's then-boyfriend Tony Ward, fellow models Amanda Cazalet and Wallis Franken Montana, as well as Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza, who was a dancer on the Blond Ambition World Tour which occurred earlier that year.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7693421/strike-a-pose-doc-revisiting-madonnas-truth-or-dare-dancers-sets-premiere-date|title='Strike A Pose' Doc, Revisiting Madonna's 'Truth Or Dare' Dancers, Sets Premiere Date on Logo|date=February 16, 2017|accessdate=August 8, 2020|magazine=Billboard|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623172532/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/7693421/strike-a-pose-doc-revisiting-madonnas-truth-or-dare-dancers-sets-premiere-date|archivedate=June 23, 2020|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|last=Orth|first=Maureen|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1996/09/claude-montana-wallis-franken|title=Death by Design|date=January 8, 2014|accessdate=August 8, 2020|magazine=Vanity Fair|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202200756/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1996/09/claude-montana-wallis-franken|archivedate=December 2, 2022|url-status=live}} It is a tribute to the film Bay of Angels (1963).{{harvnb|Guilbert|2002|p=132}} Mondino described the concept of the music video:

I've worked with Madonna a few times now, and there's more to her than people think. She's a great actress. So I wanted to do something less glamorous, less slick, more real. I wanted to put the paparazzi out of work. How can a picture of Madonna and Tony together be surprising when you've already seen them together half-naked in a video? [..] It was very cheap, very easy. It's very real — that's what's so shocking about it. And maybe her kissing a woman... but that's part of our society. And with AIDS, shouldn't we celebrate kissing as a beautiful thing?{{cite journal|last=Garratt|first=Sheryl|title=Justifying Madonna|journal=The Face|date=February 1991|page=52|issn=0263-1210}}

Mondino did an experience for the video, locking the entire crew into a hotel for three days and two nights, setting no rules, and nobody was allowed to go out. The entire top floor with 15 rooms was rented, and also served as makeup and wardrobe rooms; they had no deadline, as opposed to a regular video. He explained that he did not have any concept, except for the idea that Madonna arrived in the hotel tired and broken, and left full of energy.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/express-yourself-the-making-of-madonnas-20-greatest-music-videos-140803/justify-my-love-1990-65232/|title=Express Yourself: The Making of Madonna's 20 Greatest Music Videos|last=Johnston|first=Maura|author-link=Maura Johnston |date=February 24, 2015|accessdate=August 8, 2020|magazine=Rolling Stone|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815171823/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/express-yourself-the-making-of-madonnas-20-greatest-music-videos-140803/justify-my-love-1990-65232/|archivedate=August 15, 2022|url-status=live}} The director recalled that by the end of it, he was unable to differentiate the real from the performed as they were not following a script. He described the shooting as "very quiet, it was very gentle, we were all very sweet to each other", and said "we were talking, chatting, laughing, playing the music, shooting and when people were tired they went to bed". Mondino commented that the last day when he was supposed to go home, he felt strange, and wondered if he had to go back home or not, as he thought it was a dream rather than a video shooting. In 2013, during a Q&A session with Reddit users, Madonna revealed it was her favorite music video to make.{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/madonna-reddit-ama_n_3940717|title=Madonna Reveals Favorite Songs, Album Urges And Much More In Reddit AMA|work=HuffPost|accessdate=August 8, 2020|date=September 17, 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208061930/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/madonna-reddit-ama_n_3940717|archivedate=December 8, 2022|url-status=live}}

File:Madonna justify my love video.gif is alluded to when two women are seen in men's clothing and with drawn-on moustaches.]]

The video was filmed in grainy black and white. It opens with a dancer in a black bodysuit dancing to the camera, cutting to Madonna walking down a hotel hallway, looking tired. She is dressed in an overcoat, carrying a suitcase, with her hand on her forehead. The ajar doors in the hallway also reveal glimpses of a topless androgynous figure, as well as a shirtless man who appears to be receiving oral sex. As Madonna starts lip synching the song, she drops the suitcase and kneels down against the wall, while caressing her neck. She opens her coat, which reveals she is wearing lace underwear, garter belt, and stockings. An out-of-focus male figure, played by Ward, emerges, and slowly walks towards her. As Madonna stands, she pulls Ward towards her and they kiss.

More images from the doors are also shown, displaying a man in black leather clothes lacing a woman into a corset, as well as a woman wearing a corset who turns to camera thrusting her breasts forward. The video moves into a scene where Madonna is seen in a bedroom, slowly removing her clothes and displaying herself on a white bed as Ward observes her. He comes close to her, undressing himself and preparing to mount her, and she pushes him away. A cut occurs, and Madonna is seen laying down with an androgynous woman, wearing male clothes and make up applied on her eyes. They engage in a kiss as Ward observes as a voyeur. Two transgender women are then seen caressing each other's faces, while observing themselves in a mirror. The video returns to the bedroom scene, where Ward is on top of Madonna and appears to be penetrating her.

A dominatrix enters the bedroom in a cop hat and leather gloves, as well as suspenders covering her nipples. She then grabs Ward by the hair, who is tied up on a chair, wearing a latticed leather harness and leather chaps. Madonna and Ward are back in bed, caressing each other; he is then seen rubbing his face on Madonna's body until it reaches her feet. Women in drag draw thin mustaches on each other and look into the camera, as Madonna laughs in the background, putting her hand onto her mouth. A man holds a woman's face as she makes a fearful look to the camera. Two men are seen sitting on a couch caressing each other, while a crossdresser is laying down on their laps. Madonna leaves the hotel hurriedly, holding her suitcase, with Ward reaching out for her to return. She throws her head back as she laughs, with mouth open wide, then bites one of her fingers in disbelief. The video fades to black, and the words "poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another" appear on the screen.

The video was set to premiere on MTV's "Madonnathon" weekend event, of which it was going to be the main attraction.{{cite news|last=Harrington|first=Richard|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1990/12/04/madonna-at-the-hype-of-her-career/ca053d67-bf8d-4389-af0c-c95efaddedec/|title=Madonna At The Hype Of Her Career|date=December 4, 1990|accessdate=August 7, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220625223222/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1990/12/04/madonna-at-the-hype-of-her-career/ca053d67-bf8d-4389-af0c-c95efaddedec/|archivedate=June 25, 2022|url-status=live}} However, the network suddenly announced that it could not be broadcast; on November 29, 1990, MTV's correspondent Kurt Loder explained the reasons: "When MTV programming executives got their first look at the video's steamy bed scenes, gay and lesbian snuggling, S&M and briefly bared female breasts, they decided they couldn't air it."{{harvnb|Taraborrelli|2018|p=210}} The channel's executives also said in a statement, "We love Madonna; we've had and will continue to have a terrific relationship with her. We respect her work as an artist and think she makes great videos. In its current form, this one is just not for us".{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Anne V.|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/12/05/who-s-that-with-that-girl/|title=Who's that with that girl?|date=December 5, 1990|accessdate=January 18, 2023|work=Tampa Bay Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118165838/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/12/05/who-s-that-with-that-girl/|archivedate=January 18, 2023|url-status=live}} It was rejected by its standards committee, which previews all new videos, and requests artists to edit or trim objectionable scenes.{{cite web|last=Goldstein|first=Patrick|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-02-ca-7692-story.html|title=Madonna Video Will Steam Up Stores|date=December 2, 1990|accessdate=August 6, 2020|work=Los Angeles Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006211547/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-02-ca-7692-story.html|archivedate=October 6, 2022|url-status=live}} According to MTV's vice-president Abbey Konowitch, the network frequently had concerns about the content of the singer's videos, stating, "You take the black lingerie, sex scenes and flesh out of 'Justify My Love,' and you've got 10 seconds of ill-focused dancing."{{harvnb|Metz|Benson|1999|p=206}} The channel had previously threatened to ban Madonna's music videos from airing — such as "Express Yourself", "Oh Father" (1989), and "Vogue" (1990) — but ultimately broadcast all videos unedited. When "Justify My Love" was submitted, Madonna thought she was "once again going to be able to bend the rules a little bit" after "Vogue" was broadcast; however, MTV simply refused to air it, refusing to even edit the video. The singer stated that "we didn't even really get a chance to try to make it viewable. They rejected it completely." The channel responded by saying, "This decision went all the way to the top. There is no way we could even edit this. I can't believe Madonna ever thought we would air it". This sparked suggestions by music industry insiders that the video was designed to be banned, as part of a marketing strategy.

{{Quote box|width=30%|align=left|quote="I guess half of me thought I was going to get away with it, that I was going to be able to convince them [MTV], and the other half thought, well, with the way of the censorship and conservatism that is sort of sweeping over the nation, I thought that there was going to be a problem."|source=—Madonna on MTV banning the video.}}

The video was premiered in its entirety on The Jukebox Network, an interactive cable network, on November 29, 1990;{{cite journal|title=Showing of Madonna's video heats up 'Nightline' ratings|date=December 5, 1990|journal=The Register-Guard|issn=0739-8557}} it was later aired on ABC's Nightline, on December 3. The channel's lawyers analyzed the video before it was shown, and agreed to its broadcast "because of the news value of the video, the late air time, and the focus of the discussion".{{cite web|last=Dobnik|first=Verena|url=https://apnews.com/article/70e0879be268552fafd76f08c6d723a2|title='Nightline' Airs the Naughty Madonna Video - Uncensored|date=December 4, 1990|accessdate=August 7, 2020|publisher=Associated Press|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118170813/https://apnews.com/article/70e0879be268552fafd76f08c6d723a2|archivedate=January 18, 2023|url-status=live}} Madonna was also interviewed by the show's host Forrest Sawyer about the video's sexual content and censorship. She defended the video as a "celebration of sex" and wondered, "Why is it that people are willing to go and watch a movie about someone getting blown to bits for no reason at all, and nobody wants to see two girls kissing and two men snuggling?"{{harvnb|Bronson|2002|p=775}} The singer also expressed during the interview that she did not understand why MTV banned the video yet allowed videos that contained violence and degradation to women to continue receiving regular airplay, saying, "I draw the line at violence and humiliation and degradation."{{cite episode|title=Madonna speaks on Nightline|series=Nightline|series-link=Nightline (US news program)|credits=Interviewer: Forrest Sawyer|network=ABC|airdate=December 3, 1990}} Her appearance on Nightline became the show's highest-rated episode for the entire year. Other shows which showed parts of the video also garnered record-breaking ratings, such as Saturday Night Live (SNL) and CNN's Showbiz Today.{{harvnb|Bego|2000|p=259}}

The music video was also banned from regular rotation on MuchMusic and Musique Plus in Canada. John Martin, program director for the former, said it was inappropriate to air, while the latter's program director Pierre Marchand called the video a "soft-porn short movie with a message about freedom of choice", and stated that viewers needed to understand before accepting it.{{cite web|last=Kleid|first=Beth|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-05-ca-5446-story.html?_amp=true|title=TV & Video|date=December 5, 1990|accessdate=August 7, 2020|work=Los Angeles Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118170321/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-05-ca-5446-story.html|archivedate=January 18, 2023|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Barry|url=https://buffalonews.com/news/hit-music-video-with-nudity-is-banned-in-english-canada/article_87837206-5918-5f07-a94f-907b33bf4701.html|title=Hit Music Video With Nudity Is Banned In English Canada|date=June 9, 1991|accessdate=August 7, 2020|work=The Buffalo News|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118170318/https://buffalonews.com/news/hit-music-video-with-nudity-is-banned-in-english-canada/article_87837206-5918-5f07-a94f-907b33bf4701.html|archivedate=January 18, 2023|url-status=live}} {{subscription required}} The banning led MuchMusic to air a special titled A Question of Taste, where the video was aired in its entirety, accompanied by panel discussions on its artistic and cultural context.{{cite journal|title=MuchMusic to play two racy videos only once|journal=Ottawa Citizen|date=April 26, 1991|issn=0839-3222}} In the UK, the video premiered on Channel 4's The Word, and later the Independent Broadcasting Authority determined its airing only after the 9pm watershed.{{cite web|last=Holden|first=Stephen|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/03/arts/critic-s-notebook-that-madonna-video-realities-and-fantasies.html|title=Critic's Notebook; That Madonna Video: Realities and Fantasies|date=December 3, 1990|accessdate=July 10, 2023|work=The New York Times|archive-date=April 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404082343/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/03/arts/critic-s-notebook-that-madonna-video-realities-and-fantasies.html|url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}{{cite web|last=Considine|first=J.D.|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1990-12-09-1990343002-story.html|title=How to justify Madonna' New Video?|date=December 9, 1990|accessdate=August 8, 2020|work=The Baltimore Sun|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228065734/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1990-12-09-1990343002-story.html|archivedate=February 28, 2019|url-status=live}} Although many complaints were received, the clip was played without restriction on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's music video show Rage, as the channel is not bound to follow classification guidelines due to being a public broadcaster.{{cite web|last=Adams|first=Cameron|url=https://www.qt.com.au/news/rage-hits-30-years-old/3164581/|title=Rage Hits 30 Years Old: The clips they had to ban|work=The Queensland Times|date=April 8, 2017|accessdate=November 11, 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415220434/https://www.qt.com.au/news/rage-hits-30-years-old/3164581/|archivedate=April 15, 2017|url-status=live}} In 2002, the video was aired in its entirety on MTV2 as part of a special countdown showing the most controversial videos ever to air on MTV.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/onair/controversialvideos/controvids.jhtml |title=The Controversial Videos|publisher=MTV|accessdate=September 19, 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20020521203844/http://www.mtv.com/onair/controversialvideos/controvids.jhtml|archivedate=May 21, 2002|url-status=dead}}

Upon the video's banning, Madonna decided make it available commercially as a video single, marking the first time an artist had released a single in this format in the United States;{{cite news|url=https://www.rhino.com/article/november-1990-madonna-shocks-the-world-with-justify-my-love|title=November 1990: Madonna Shocks the World with Justify My Love|date=March 19, 2021|access-date=February 26, 2022|publisher=Rhino|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816192913/https://www.rhino.com/article/november-1990-madonna-shocks-the-world-with-justify-my-love|archive-date=August 16, 2021}} it was described as an unprecedented move in the video industry.{{harvnb|Burt|1994|p=217}} When asked whether she stood to make money selling the video than airing it on MTV, she answered, "Yeah, so lucky me." The video single was released on December 7, 1990, in the US,{{cite magazine|last=Verna|first=Paul|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/Billboard-1990-12-22.pdf|title=Fans Justify Madonna Video At Retail|date=December 22, 1990|accessdate=August 8, 2020|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|volume=102|issue=51|page=11|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122174839/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1990/Billboard-1990-12-22.pdf|archivedate=November 22, 2022|url-status=live}} with the retail price of $9.98.{{cite magazine|title=Video Singles Look For Higher Retail Profile|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9wkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA83|first=Carla|last=Ray|date=July 18, 1998|access-date=May 24, 2014|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|volume=110|issue=29|pages=83|archive-date=October 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014064931/https://books.google.com/books?id=9wkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA83|url-status=live}} The European version also contained Madonna's performance of "Vogue" at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards. The release peaked at number two on Billboard{{'}}s Top Music Videos for two weeks, and spent 39 weeks on the chart overall. It has been certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 200,000 units in the US, and went on to sell over a million copies worldwide, becoming the best selling video single of all time.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/70757/ask-billboard|title=Ask Billboard|last1=Caulfield|first1=Keith|date=June 4, 2003|magazine=Billboard|accessdate=October 26, 2014|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920142846/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/70757/ask-billboard|archivedate=September 20, 2014}} In the United Kingdom, the video was given an 18 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), meaning no one under that age could legally buy or see the release.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/madonna-justify-my-love-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodg1mzq|title=Madonna - Justify My Love|publisher=British Board of Film Classification|accessdate=January 18, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118171821/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/madonna-justify-my-love-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0yodg1mzq|archivedate=January 18, 2023|url-status=live}} It was reported that in Saudi Arabia it was sold at a high price as illegal market porn. The music video was included on the greatest hits package Celebration: The Video Collection (2009); the version included was censored with black bars in a scene that contains female nudity.{{cite AV media notes|others=Madonna|title=Celebration: The Video Collection|year=2009|type=DVD/CD|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=9362-49729-6}}

File:Camille Paglia.jpg agreed that banning the video from MTV was the right decision, despite deeming it as "truly avant-garde".]]

Caryn James from Tampa Bay Times considered Madonna's music videos for "Express Yourself" and "Papa Don't Preach" (1986) more controversial, but deemed "Justify My Love" as her most pretentious, stating: "The feminist message of Justify My Love is that Madonna can control a career as shrewdly as any man."{{cite web|last=James|first=Caryn|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/12/16/madonna-in-charge/|title=Madonna in charge|date=December 16, 1990|accessdate=January 19, 2023|work=Tampa Bay Times|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118231544/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1990/12/16/madonna-in-charge/|archivedate=January 18, 2023|url-status=live}} Camille Paglia, writing for The New York Times, called Madonna "a true feminist" and deemed the video "truly avant-garde, at a time when that word has lost its meaning in the flabby art world". Nevertheless, she stated that MTV was right to ban it, as "parents cannot possibly control television, with its titanic omnipresence" and that "it does not belong on a mainstream music channel watched around the clock by children".{{cite web|last=Paglia|first=Camille|author-link=Camille Paglia|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/14/opinion/madonna-finally-a-real-feminist.html|title=Madonna -- Finally, a Real Feminist|date=December 14, 1990|work=The New York Times|accessdate=August 8, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914054543/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/14/opinion/madonna-finally-a-real-feminist.html|archivedate=September 14, 2010|url-status=live}} On the other hand, Liz Smith, writing for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, was critical of the decision, and hoped that since "MTV has gone so moral on the public, that they'll also begin to take close looks at other material submitted to them by all those macho metal and rap groups, with their own S&M overtones, their incipient violence and degradation-of-women themes". She also noted that who admired the singer would applaud her refusal to censor her art, and who never liked her would dislike her more than ever.{{cite journal|last=Smith|first=Liz|authorlink=Liz Smith (journalist)|title=Bad Publicity Is Good For Madonna|date=December 3, 1990|journal=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|page=4E|issn=2641-4503}} Richard Goldstein from The Village Voice opined that "by suppressing erotic dissent, MTV does its best to see that this powerful medium will not communicate the 'wrong' idea about sex. That may pacify the puritans, but it also makes it easier to deny women and gays their full humanity—easier for the metal masses to justify their hate", concluding that "'Justify My Love' makes it harder to hurt people".{{harvnb|Rettenmund|1995|p=94}} Johns Hopkins University professor of popular culture Mark Crispin Miller observed that it was "perfectly all right for MTV to broadcast sadomasochism couplings and events as long as the images don't violate a certain heterosexual norm". Considine agreed, stating that there was "very little" in the clip that had not been seen on MTV, pointing out music videos by R.E.M., Boy George and Aerosmith as examples.

Benjamin Svetkey from Entertainment Weekly pointed out that "MTV has banned videos before, but this time the network was saying no to the world’s most powerful recording artist. Madonna's sex-charged career has been carved out of controversy, and now, for the first time, the hippest cultural outlet on television was telling her to cool it." Sharing a similar opinion, Lisa Henderson, writing in the book The Madonna Connection: Representational Politics, Subcultural Identities, And Cultural Theory, stated that for critics and fans, "it was an odd scenario—MTV rejecting its premier pop star, whose stylistic developments had arguably marked (and marketed) the evolution of music television itself".{{harvnb|Schwichtenberg|1993|p=107}} Considine wrote in the book The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary that the banning "immediately mushroomed into a censorship scandal", as "Madonna insisted that she hadn't caused the commotion intentionally", but "her critics accused her of planning the whole thing. Nobody doubted her intelligence then—they merely held it against her."{{harvnb|Metz|Benson|1999|p=16}} In Justify My Love: Sex, Subversion, and Music Video, Ryann Donnelly wrote that "while the banning of Madonna's Justify My Love video for its explicit sexual content has become somewhat legendary — a sufficient promotional tool in itself — few artists could have sacrificed the support of MTV in a similar way to that of Madonna, before YouTube".{{harvnb|Donnelly|2019|pp=202}} Commenting on the video's release as a video single, Landon Palmer stated in Rock Star/Movie Star: Power and Performance in Cinematic Rock Stardom that "the release of 'Justify My Love' exclusively on VHS had the effect of creating a new moving image platform – the 'video single' – for Madonna's cultural production, extending the narrowcast relationship between artist and audience popularized by MTV".{{cite book|first=Palmer|last=Landon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jvUTEAAAQBAJ&dq=madonna+justify+my+love+mtv+video+single&pg=PA198|title=Rock Star/Movie Star: Power and Performance in Cinematic Rock Stardom|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=January 19, 2023|date=2020|url-access=limited|isbn=978-0190888435|via=Google Books|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119230319/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Rock_Star_Movie_Star/jvUTEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=madonna+justify+my+love+mtv+video+single&pg=PA198&printsec=frontcover|archive-date=January 19, 2023|url-status=live}}

The video's bisexual and sadomasochist themes were also noted. In another article, Paglia recalled that "in a number of videos, Madonna has played with bisexual innuendos", and "Justify My Love" was a culmination of that; she considered Madonna as a pioneer for "restoring lesbian eroticism to the continuum of heterosexual response" in the clip, showing "bisexuality and all experimentation as a liberation from false, narrow categories".{{harvnb|Metz|Benson|1999|p=165}} Lucy O'Brien, in her book She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul, wrote that "conveying the full power of sexual ambiguity", Madonna showed in the video "how gender roles could be swapped, blurred and played with to create a multitude of different identities".{{cite book|first=Lucy|last=O'Brien|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZ4L0Pv7QwUC&dq=Jean-Baptiste+Mondino+music+video+justify+my++love&pg=PA249|title=She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|access-date=January 19, 2023|date=2002|url-access=limited|isbn=978-0826472083|via=Google Books|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224123607/https://books.google.com/books?id=AZ4L0Pv7QwUC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&pg=PA249&dq=Jean-Baptiste+Mondino+music+video+justify+my++love&hl=en|archive-date=December 24, 2021|url-status=live}} According to Janelle L. Wilson and Gerald E. Markle, the eroticism shown in the video was "by traditional standards, non-normative. The effeminate dancer, the homosexual behavior and the action and appearance of the masculine woman in the video also represent behavior outside the accepted norms."{{harvnb|Metz|Benson|1999|p=210}} For Cathy Schwichtenberg, Madonna's "languid French kiss with l'autre femme" in the video was a representation of "a deconstruction of lines and boundaries that fragment male/female gender polarities and pluralize sexual practices. This is a postmodern, unbounded feminism, that unifies coalitionally rather than foundationally."{{harvnb|Metz|Benson|1999|p=254}} According to Tim Dean in the book Beyond Sexuality, the music video was "replete with stylized gestures of representing the whole catalogue of perverse activity: lesbianism, fetishism, voyeurism, transvestism, troilism, and the ritual accoutrements of sadomasochism".{{cite book|first=Dean|last=Tim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FNphwsWcBssC&q=Jean-Baptiste+Mondino+music+video+justify+my++love|title=Beyond Sexuality|publisher=University of Chicago Press|access-date=January 19, 2023|date=2000|url-access=limited|isbn=978-0226139357|via=Google Books|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224215726/https://books.google.com/books?id=FNphwsWcBssC&newbks=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=Jean-Baptiste+Mondino+music+video+justify+my++love&hl=en|archive-date=December 24, 2021|url-status=live}}

Reflecting on the video for "Justify My Love" in a retrospective review, Tom Breiham from Stereogum pointed out that the video became "one more time that Madonna made the entire media industrial complex serve her interests".{{cite web|last=Breiham|first=Tom|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2165394/the-number-ones-madonnas-justify-my-love/columns/the-number-ones/|title=The Number Ones: Madonna's 'Justify My Love'|date=October 29, 2021|accessdate=January 19, 2023|work=Stereogum|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124134724/https://www.stereogum.com/2165394/the-number-ones-madonnas-justify-my-love/columns/the-number-ones/|archivedate=November 24, 2022|url-status=live}} Daniel Browne, writing for The Gay UK website, cited five reasons for calling the video a "masterpiece", such as sex, gender bending, and gay and lesbian romping, describing it as "five minutes of artistic brilliance. I cannot think of a video before or since that covers such a topic in a positive and empowering way. The act of sex in its various forms, cross-dressing and fluid sexuality tend to kept behind closed doors."{{cite web|last=Browne|first=Daniel|url=https://www.thegayuk.com/5-reasons-why-madonnas-justify-my-love-video-is-a-masterpiece/|title=5 Reasons Why Madonna's Justify My Love Video Is a Masterpiece|date=October 9, 2013|accessdate=January 19, 2023|work=The Gay UK|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107082945/https://www.thegayuk.com/5-reasons-why-madonnas-justify-my-love-video-is-a-masterpiece/|archivedate=November 7, 2020|url-status=live}} In a similar vein, Dig!{{'}}s Mark Elliott went on to say that "the gender fluidity and nudity featured in the new video were provocative enough in a more sheltered era, but the fact it was being issued by such a major star was extraordinary", citing George Michael's "I Want Your Sex" (1987) as an example of a video that had explored similar thematic territory, but was altogether more conventional in its approach.{{cite web|last=Elliott|first=Mark|url=https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/justify-my-love-madonna-song-story/|title=Justify My Love: Is This Madonna's Most Controversial Song?|date=November 6, 2022|accessdate=January 19, 2023|work=Dig!|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129220624/https://www.thisisdig.com/feature/justify-my-love-madonna-song-story/|archivedate=November 29, 2022|url-status=live}} Samantha Grossman from Time observed that "if YouTube had existed when 'Justify My Love' was released in 1990, the extremely NSFW music video would have gone viral in minutes, if not seconds".{{cite magazine|last=Grossman|first=Samantha|url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/16/nazis-and-nudity-the-top-10-madonna-controversies/slide/justify-my-love-video-banned-from-mtv/|title=Nazis and Nudity: The Top 10 Madonna Controversies|date=July 16, 2012|accessdate=January 19, 2023|magazine=Time|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230118231542/https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/07/16/nazis-and-nudity-the-top-10-madonna-controversies/slide/justify-my-love-video-banned-from-mtv/|archivedate=January 18, 2023|url-status=live}} In 2015, Christopher Rosa of VH1 showed the music video to five people around the age of twenty, later interviewing them on their thoughts after watching it. All five of them agreed that it was "certainly envelope-pushing", but also pointed out that "it's nothing 2015 artists haven't done (or even surpassed)", with the author citing the film Fifty Shades of Grey and Nicki Minaj's music video for "Anaconda" (2014) as examples.{{cite web|last=Rosa|first=Christopher|url=https://www.vh1.com/news/vbhl8c/madonna-justify-my-love-25-anniversary|title=Is "Justify My Love" Still Provocative 25 Years Later? 5 Millennials Watch For The First Time + Weigh In|publisher=VH1|date=November 6, 2015|accessdate=January 19, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124140721/https://www.vh1.com/news/vbhl8c/madonna-justify-my-love-25-anniversary|archivedate=November 24, 2022|url-status=live}} Additionally, it was later added to sexiest music videos of all time lists by VH1,{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XhoIJZ_biNcC&pg=PA132|title=VH1: The List|publisher=Simon & Schuster|access-date=January 19, 2023|date=2000|url-access=limited|isbn=978-0743417990|via=Google Books|archive-date=January 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119225843/https://books.google.com.br/books?id=XhoIJZ_biNcC&pg=PA132&redir_esc=y|url-status=live}} Rolling Stone,{{cite magazine|last=Johnston|first=Maura|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-30-sexiest-music-videos-of-all-time-202547/|title=The 30 Sexiest Music Videos of All Time|date=June 19, 2021|accessdate=January 19, 2023|magazine=Rolling Stone|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124140719/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-30-sexiest-music-videos-of-all-time-202547/|archivedate=November 24, 2022|url-status=live}} and Marie Claire.{{cite web|last1=Peng|first1=Chelsea|last2=Rodriguez|first2=Bianca|url=https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/news/g5084/sexiest-music-videos-of-all-time/|title=The 30 Sexiest Music Videos of All Time|date=October 16, 2021|accessdate=January 19, 2023|work=Marie Claire|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202070807/https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/news/g5084/sexiest-music-videos-of-all-time/|archivedate=December 2, 2022|url-status=live}}

File:Madonna - The Celebration Tour live London14 10 2023 (53272221294) (cropped).jpg (2023–2024)]]

Madonna performed "Justify My Love" for the first time on the Girlie Show tour in 1993 during the concert's encore. For the performance, the singer and her dancers wore period costumes, mocking specifically Victorian fashion, while she held a lorgnette.{{cite magazine|last=Duffy|first=Thom|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-10-09.pdf#page=22|title=Artists in Action|date=October 9, 1993|accessdate=August 2, 2020|pages=20–22|issue=41|volume=105|magazine=Billboard|issn=0006-2510|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121012001/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1993/BB-1993-10-09.pdf|archivedate=January 21, 2021|url-status=live}} The New York Daily News{{'}} Jim Farber commented that Madonna and the dancers "cavorted elegantly" throughout the number, reversing expectations that the performance would be raunchy.{{cite web|last=Farber|first=Jim|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-09-27-9309270063-story.html|title=Madonna's 'Girlie Show' More Of Her Usual Frills|date=September 27, 1993|accessdate=June 2, 2020|work=New York Daily News|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616105233/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-09-27-9309270063-story.html|archivedate=June 16, 2021|url-status=live}} Richard Corliss from Time magazine complimented the performance, opining that the singer saved "her best anachronistic joke for last", noting its "stately cadence" and comparing the costumes to those of My Fair Lady.{{cite magazine|last=Corliss|first=Richard|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1825125,00.html|title=Madonna Goes to Camp|magazine=Time|date=July 21, 2008|accessdate=August 2, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081129121742/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1825125,00.html|archivedate=November 29, 2008|url-status=live}} "The Beast Within" remix was also used on the tour as an interlude with two male dancers performing an apocalyptic dance, miming couplings and brawls while Madonna, from off-stage, recited the lyrics. Jon Pareles from The New York Times considered the performance an "ambiguous sequence, mourning the sexual freedom of the pre-AIDS 1970's, then hinting at biblical retribution".{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/16/arts/review-pop-from-madonna-a-new-palatability-but-still-spicy.html?src=pm|title=Review/Pop; From Madonna, a New Palatability but Still Spicy|last=Pareles|first=Jon|authorlink=Jon Pareles|date=October 16, 1993|work=The New York Times|accessdate=August 5, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914130035/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/16/arts/review-pop-from-madonna-a-new-palatability-but-still-spicy.html|archivedate=September 14, 2017|url-status=live}} These two performances on the November 19, 1993 show at Sydney Cricket Ground was recorded and released on VHS and LaserDisc on April 26, 1994, as The Girlie Show: Live Down Under.{{cite AV media notes|title=The Girlie Show: Live Down Under|others=Madonna|year=1994|type=DVD|publisher=Warner Music Vision|id=7599-38391-2}}

"The Beast Within" remix was again used as the video introduction to 2004's Re-Invention World Tour; the visual showed footage of X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS, a collaboration between Madonna and Steven Klein. Chart Attack magazine staff noted its "quasi-religious mumbo-jumbo" paired with "some genuinely arty images of the singer" on the screens, while Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine found the introduction "macabre".{{cite web|url=http://www.chartattack.com/DAMN/2004/07/1911.cfm|title=Live: Madonna Re-Imagines Herself Without The Bite|date=July 19, 2004|work=Chart Attack|accessdate=August 5, 2020|url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040726181258/http://www.chartattack.com/DAMN/2004/07/1911.cfm|archivedate=July 26, 2004}}{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/madonna-new-york-ny-june-16-2004/|title=Madonna: Live @ Madison Square Garden|last=Cinquemani|first=Sal|date=August 9, 2004|work=Slant Magazine|accessdate=August 5, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901012938/https://www.slantmagazine.com/features/madonna-new-york-ny-june-16-2004/|archivedate=September 1, 2021|url-status=live}} It was subsequently included on the 2006 documentary and live album I'm Going to Tell You a Secret.{{cite AV media notes|title=I'm Going to Tell You a Secret|others=Madonna|year=2006|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=9362-49990-2}}

"Justify My Love" was later used as a video interlude during the MDNA Tour in 2012. The performance featured dancers wearing white pierrot masks, who "impressed with their fully synchronized dance moves", according to Danilo Saraiva from Quem magazine. The video, directed by Tom Munro, featured a lingerie-clad Madonna.{{cite web|last=Saraiva|first=Danilo|url=https://revistaquem.globo.com/Popquem/noticia/2015/03/mdna-tour.html|title=MDNA Tour|date=March 25, 2015|accessdate=August 2, 2020|work=Quem|language=Portuguese|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418185708/https://revistaquem.globo.com/Popquem/noticia/2015/03/mdna-tour.html|archivedate=April 18, 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Madonna/news-80456.html|last=Hamard|first=Jonathan|title=Madonna : les backdrops 'Justify My Love' et 'Human Nature' du 'MDNA Tour' en ligne|date=June 28, 2012|accessdate=August 2, 2020|publisher=Puremédias|language=French|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630023832/http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Madonna/news-80456.html|archivedate=June 30, 2012|url-status=live}} The number was included in the live album MDNA World Tour, released on September 6, 2013.{{Cite AV media notes|title=MDNA World Tour|others=Madonna|year=2013|publisher=Live Nation / Interscope}} Elements of the song were also used during the "S.E.X." interlude on the Rebel Heart Tour in 2015–16, as dancers writhed on "gravity-defying" beds.{{cite news|url=http://www.vulture.com/2015/09/madonna-concert-review-new-york.html|title=Concert Review: On the Rebel Heart Tour, Madonna's Still Asking, 'Who's That Girl?'|last=Zolatz|first=Lindsay|work=Vulture.com|date=September 19, 2015|accessdate=August 2, 2020|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919215342/http://www.vulture.com/2015/09/madonna-concert-review-new-york.html|archivedate=September 19, 2015|url-status=live}} The performance of the song at the March 19–20, 2016 shows in Sydney's Allphones Arena was recorded and released in Madonna's fifth live album, Rebel Heart Tour.{{cite AV media notes|others=Madonna|title=Rebel Heart Tour|year=2017|type=2xCD|publisher=Eagle Records|id=EDGCD671}} The song's performance on the Celebration Tour (2023–2024) featured "Busby Berkeley-esque choreography", and saw the singer —dressed in lingerie and bondage gear— cavorting in a bed with a female dancer wearing a gimp mask and simulating masturbation, in a sequence that referred the Blond Ambition World Tour.{{cite magazine|last1=Lynch |first1=Joe |title=The 17 best moments from Madonna's Celebration Tour opening night in London |url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/madonna-tour-celebration-london-opening-night-best-moments/ |magazine=Billboard |access-date=October 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015101939/https://www.billboard.com/lists/madonna-tour-celebration-london-opening-night-best-moments/ |archive-date=October 15, 2023 |date=October 14, 2023}}{{cite magazine |last1=Hess |first1=Liam |title=With Madonna's Celebration Tour, the Queen of Pop reclaims her throne |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/madonna-celebration-tour-london-review |magazine=Vogue |access-date=October 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231021031433/https://www.vogue.com/article/madonna-celebration-tour-london-review |archive-date=October 21, 2023 |date=October 20, 2023}} "Justify My Love" was named one of the best moments of the concert by Billboard{{'}}s Joe Lynch. "The Beast Within" was also used as a video interlude on Celebration. The BBC's Mark Savage criticized the inclusion: "Did we really need [...] the obscure "Beast Within" remix [...] when songs like 'Express Yourself' and 'Frozen' were discarded as snippets?".{{cite web |last=Savage |first=Mark |date=October 15, 2023 |title=Madonna's Celebration Tour reviewed: The Queen of pop brings out her crown jewels |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-67098882 |access-date=October 15, 2023 |publisher=BBC}}

{{See also|List of cover versions of Madonna songs|List of Madonna tribute albums}}

On May 11, 1991, Madonna made a guest appearance on SNL on the recurring sketch Wayne's World; it spoofed the song's music video as well as her documentary Madonna: Truth or Dare. The spoof consisted of Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) encountering a seductive Madonna lying on a bed in a hotel room during a fantasy dream sequence, filmed in black and white. After some back-and-forth banter, Wayne and Madonna play truth or dare. Wayne begins by saying "truth". Madonna then asks "Have you ever made love with two women at the same time?" He answers "Uh... yes!" to which Madonna says, "Okay, I believe you... Not!" Wayne then dares Madonna to make out with him. As they kiss, the music for "Justify My Love" begins playing. The scene ends as two dominatrixes appear in the room, accompanied by a Prince lookalike.{{harvnb|Bego|2000|p=272}}

In 1999, a cover of the song, done by Front Line Assembly with vocals by Kristy Thirsk, was included on the compilation album Virgin Voices: A Tribute To Madonna, Vol. 1.{{Cite news|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/virgin-voices-a-tribute-to-madonna-vol-1-mw0000602295|title=Virgin Voices: A Tribute to Madonna, Vol. 1 – Various Artists|first=Steve|last=Huey|accessdate=August 10, 2020|publisher=AllMusic|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202102916/http://www.allmusic.com/album/virgin-voices-a-tribute-to-madonna-vol-1-mw0000602295|archivedate=December 2, 2022|url-status=live}} The next year, it received cover versions included on the tribute albums Truly Blue: Tribute to Madonna and A Tribute to Madonna: Tranceformed.{{Cite news|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/truly-blue-tribute-to-madonna-mw0000604193|title=Truly Blue: Tribute to Madonna – Various Artists|first=Steve|last=Huey|accessdate=April 18, 2013|publisher=AllMusic|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422103448/https://www.allmusic.com/album/truly-blue-tribute-to-madonna-mw0000604193|archivedate=April 22, 2022|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.amazon.com/Tranceformed-Tribute-Madonna-Various-Artists/dp/B00004SR0P|title=Tranceformed: A Tribute To Madonna|accessdate=April 28, 2023|publisher=Amazon|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080615131016/https://www.amazon.com/Tranceformed-Tribute-Madonna-Various-Artists/dp/B00004SR0P|archivedate=June 15, 2008|url-status=live}} "Justify My Love" was also covered by rapper Vita, featuring singer Ashanti, for The Fast and the Furious soundtrack in 2001, while the same year another cover version by Starsound Orchestra was included on the tribute album Plays the Hits Made Famous by Madonna.{{Cite news|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/plays-the-hits-made-famous-by-madonna-mw0000001638|title=Plays the Hits Made Famous by Madonna – Starsound Orchestra|accessdate=April 18, 2013|publisher=AllMusic|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605222131/https://www.allmusic.com/album/plays-the-hits-made-famous-by-madonna-mw0000001638|archivedate=June 5, 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Kerry L.|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-fast-and-the-furious-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-mw0000588130|title=The Fast and the Furious [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack] – Various Artists|accessdate=August 10, 2020|publisher=AllMusic|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120010057/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-fast-and-the-furious-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-mw0000588130|archivedate=November 20, 2021|url-status=live}} In 2012, Brazilian singer Gretchen recorded a cover with a music video using footage of her own acting career.{{cite web|url=https://www.virgula.com.br/musica/gretchen-homenageia-madonna-com-versao-para-justify-my-love-assista-ao-video/|title=Gretchen homenageia Madonna com versão para "Justify my Love"; assista ao vídeo|work=Virgula|date=November 30, 2012|accessdate=March 18, 2015|language=Portuguese|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119234506/https://www.virgula.com.br/musica/gretchen-homenageia-madonna-com-versao-para-justify-my-love-assista-ao-video/|archivedate=January 19, 2023|url-status=live}} In 2020, Chavez released her own version of "Justify My Love" on streaming platforms.{{cite web|url=https://ingridchavez.bandcamp.com/track/justify-my-love-radio-edit|title=Justify My Love (Radio Edit) by Ingrid Chavez|publisher=Bandcamp|accessdate=May 1, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724190945/https://ingridchavez.bandcamp.com/track/justify-my-love-radio-edit|archivedate=July 24, 2022|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/justify-my-love-single/1541336172|title=Justify My Love - Single by Ingrid Chavez on Apple Music|accessdate=May 1, 2022|publisher=Apple Music|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204204006/https://music.apple.com/us/album/justify-my-love-single/1541336172|archivedate=December 4, 2020|url-status=live}} Two years later, she released a limited edition cassette with eight remixes.{{cite web|url=https://ingridchavez.bandcamp.com/album/justify-my-love-limited-edition-cassette|title=Justify My Love Limited Edition Cassette by Ingrid Chavez|publisher=Bandcamp|accessdate=May 1, 2022|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210052441/https://ingridchavez.bandcamp.com/album/justify-my-love-limited-edition-cassette|archivedate=February 10, 2022|url-status=live}}

German band Enigma sampled one of the remixes of the song for their "Orthodox Remix" of the 1991 single, "Mea Culpa (Part II)".{{cite AV media notes|others=Enigma|title="Mea Culpa (Part II)"|year=1991|type=CD single|publisher=Virgin Records|id=0-96352}} In 1994, Eurodance act Maxx sampled its beat in the song "Suddenly", included on their debut studio album To the Maxximum.{{cite AV media notes|others=Maxx|title=To the Maxximum|year=1994|type=CD|publisher=Intercord Records|id=INT 845.576}} German electronic duo Jam & Spoon sampled a part of the song's remixes for a remix of "Kaleidoscope Skies" (1997), featuring Plavka.{{cite AV media notes|others=Jam & Spoon|title="Kaleidoscope Skies"|year=1997|type=CD single|publisher=JAM! Records|id=JAM 664412 6}} Rapper Mase used a sample from "Justify My Love" on his song "Stay Out of My Way", included on his second studio album, Double Up (1999).{{cite AV media notes|others=Mase|title=Double Up|year=1999|type=CD|publisher=Bad Boy Records|id=78612-73029-2}} In 2003, rapper Jay-Z also sampled the song on "Justify My Thug", on his eighth studio album, The Black Album, described as a "hip hop re-working" of the original song. Portions of "Justify My Love" were used by Insane Clown Posse in their 2004 single "Bowling Balls".{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/hells-pit-pt-1-mw0000208199|title=Hell's Pit, Pt. 1 - Insane Clown Posse|accessdate=August 10, 2020|last=Jeffries|first=David|publisher=AllMusic|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221014064931/https://www.allmusic.com/album/hells-pit-pt-1-mw0000208199|archivedate=October 14, 2022|url-status=live}}

Credits adapted from The Immaculate Collection liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|others=Madonna|title=The Immaculate Collection|year=1990|type=Liner notes|publisher=Warner Bros. Records|id=9 26440-1}}

;Management

• Recorded at Waterfront Studios and Unique Recording Studios, London, United Kingdom and New York City, New York
• Mastered at Sterling Sound Studios, New York City, New York
• Mixed at Guerilla Studios, London, United Kingdom
• Freddy DeMann Management, The DeMann Entertainment Co. Ltd.
• Miss Bessie Music, Webo Girl Publishing, Inc., Warner Bros. Music Corp, Bleu Disc Music Co. Inc (ASCAP)

;Personnel

{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• Madonna – vocals, writer, background vocals
• Lenny Kravitz – writer, producer, background vocals
• André Betts – associate producer
• Henry Hirsch – recording
• David Domanich – recording
• Andy Cardenas – recording
• Josh Cuervokas – recording
• Shep Pettibone – audio mixing
• Goh Hotoda – audio mixing
• Patrick Demarchelier – photographer
• Jeri Heiden – art director

{{div col end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

• US and UK cassette and 7-inch single;{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=US cassette single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=4-19485}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=UK cassette single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=5439 19485-4}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=US 7-inch single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=7-19485}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=UK 7-inch single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=5439-19485-7}} Japanese mini CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=Japanese mini CD single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=WPDP-6261}}

1. "Justify My Love" (album version) – 4:58
2. "Express Yourself" (Shep's 'Spressin' Himself Re-Remix) – 4:02

• US Digipak CD maxi-single{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=US Digipak CD maxi-single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=9 21820-2}}

1. "Justify My Love" (Q-Sound Mix) – 4:54
2. "Justify My Love" (Orbit 12-inch mix) – 7:16
3. "Justify My Love" (hip hop mix) – 6:30
4. "Express Yourself" (1990) (Shep's 'Spressin' Himself Re-Remix) – 9:30
5. "Justify My Love" (The Beast Within Mix) – 6:10

• Canadian and Australian 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=Canadian 12-inch single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=92 18200}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=Australian 12-inch single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=7599218200}}

1. "Justify My Love" (Orbit 12-inch mix) – 7:16
2. "Justify My Love" (hip hop mix) – 6:30
3. "Justify My Love" (The Beast Within Mix) – 6:10
4. "Express Yourself" (1990) (Shep's 'Spressin' Himself Re-Remix) – 9:30

{{col-2}}

• European 12-inch and CD maxi-single{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=European 12-inch single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=7599-21851-0}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=European CD maxi-single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id= 7599-21851-2}}

1. "Justify My Love" (hip hop mix) – 6:30
2. "Justify My Love" (Q-Sound Mix) – 4:54
3. "Justify My Love" (The Beast Within Mix) – 6:10

• UK and European CD single; UK limited-edition 12-inch picture disc{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=UK CD single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=W9000CD}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=European CD single liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=W9000CD}}{{cite AV media notes|title=Justify My Love|others=Madonna|year=1990|type=UK limited-edition 12-inch picture disc liner notes|publisher=Sire Records|id=W9000TP}}

1. "Justify My Love" (William Orbit Remix) – 7:07
2. "Justify My Love" (album version) – 4:58
3. "Express Yourself" (Shep's 'Spressin' Himself Re-Remix) – 4:02

• Digital single (2020){{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/justify-my-love-remixes/1542648646|title=Justify My Love (Remixes) by Madonna on Apple Music|publisher=Apple Music|accessdate=January 18, 2023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221109065929/https://music.apple.com/us/album/justify-my-love-remixes/1542648646|archivedate=November 9, 2022|url-status=live}}

1. "Justify My Love" (Q-Sound Mix) – 4:54
2. "Justify My Love" (Orbit 12-inch mix) – 7:16
3. "Justify My Love" (hip hop mix) – 6:30
4. "Express Yourself" (1990) (Shep's 'Spressin' Himself Re-Remix) – 9:30
5. "Justify My Love" (The Beast Within Mix) – 6:10
6. "Justify My Love" (Orbit edit) – 4:33

{{col-end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "Justify My Love"}}

!scope="col" colspan="3"|Physical

|-

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|artist=Madonna|title=Justify My Love|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1990|certyear=1990|access-date=July 14, 2021|refname=certaus}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Madonna|title=Justify My Love|type=single|award=Gold|relyear=1990|certyear=1991|access-date=September 9, 2015|refname=certcan}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Madonna|title=Justify My Love|type=single|award=Silver|relyear=1990|certyear=1990|id=3578-2003-1|access-date=September 9, 2015|refname=certuk|salesamount=275,500|salesref=}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Madonna|title=Justify My Love|type=single|award=Platinum|relyear=1990|certyear=1990|access-date=September 9, 2015|refname="riaa"}}

!scope="col" colspan="3"|Video single

|-

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|artist=Madonna|title=Justify My Love|type=video|award=Gold|relyear=1990|certyear=1991|access-date=July 14, 2021|refname="Aria"}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=video|region=Canada|artist=Madonna|title=Justify My Love|nocert=yes|salesamount=20,000|salesref={{cite journal| url=https://worldradiohistory.com/CANADA/RPM/90s/1991/RPM-1991-02-02.pdf#page=14| title=VIDEO| journal=RPM|date=February 2, 1991|page=14| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630010615/https://worldradiohistory.com/CANADA/RPM/90s/1991/RPM-1991-02-02.pdf| archive-date=June 30, 2020|access-date=January 23, 2021|first=Sean|last=LaRose}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=Japan (Oricon) |nocert=yes |salesamount= 14,125 |salesref={{cite book |author= |title=Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. |location=Roppongi, Tokyo |publisher=Oricon |date=2006 |isbn=4-87131-077-9}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=Italy|nocert=yes |salesamount=7,000|salesref={{cite web|url=https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1991/03/09/ai-primi-posti-the-wall.html|title=Ai primi posti c' e' 'The Wall'|language=it|date=March 9, 1991|newspaper=la Repubblica|access-date=February 26, 2022|archive-date=February 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226195943/https://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/1991/03/09/ai-primi-posti-the-wall.html}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Madonna|title=Justify My Love|type=videosingle|award=Platinum|number=4|relyear=1990|certyear=1991|access-date=April 2, 2015|salesamount=500,000|salesref={{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urgTAAAAIBAJ&dq=Madonna&pg=PA15&article_id=7000,471237|title=Mini-boom for music videos|date=May 2, 1991|newspaper=New Straits Times|access-date=August 10, 2023|page=15}}}}

{{Certification Table Bottom | nosales=true}}

• Pazz & Jop
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1990
• List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1991

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{Cite book |last=Bego |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Bego |title=Madonna: Blonde Ambition |publisher=Cooper Square Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8154-1051-5}}
• {{Cite book |last=Bronson |first=Fred |author-link=Fred Bronson |title=The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits |publisher=Billboard Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-8230-7677-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Burt |first=Richard |title=The Administration of Aesthetics |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |year=1994 |isbn=0-8166-2367-8}}
• {{Cite book |last=Clerk |first=Carol |title=Madonnastyle |year=2002 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-0-7119-8874-3}}
• {{cite book |last1=Donnelly |first1=Ryann |author-link1=Ryann Donnelly |title=Justify My Love: Sex, Subversion, and Music Video |publisher=Watkins Publishing |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-912248-41-4}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Fouz-Hernández |first1=Santiago |last2=Jarman-Ivens |first2=Freya |title=Madonna's Drowned Worlds: New Approaches to Her Cultural Transformations, 1983–2003 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-754-63372-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/madonnasdrownedw0000unse}}
• {{Cite book |last=Guilbert |first=Georges-Claude |title=Madonna as Postmodern Myth |publisher=McFarland |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-7864-1408-6 |author-link=Georges Claude Guilbert}}
• {{Cite book |last=McAleer |first=Dave |author-link=Dave McAleer |title=The Omnibus Book of British and American Hit Singles, 1960–1990 |year=1990 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-0-7119-2180-1}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Metz |first1=Allen |first2=Carol |last2=Benson |title=The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary |publisher=Music Sales Group |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-8256-7194-4}}
• {{Cite book |last=O'Brien |first=Lucy |title=Madonna: Like an Icon |year=2018 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-552-17602-6 |authorlink=Lucy O'Brien |title-link=Madonna: Like an Icon}}
• {{Cite book |last=Rettenmund |first=Matthew |title=Encyclopedia Madonnica |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-312-11782-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopdia-madonnica/}}
• {{Cite book |last=Rooksby |first=Rikky |title=Madonna: The Complete Guide to Her Music |publisher=Omnibus Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-711-99883-4 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/madonnacompleteg0000rook}}
• {{Cite book |last=Schwichtenberg |first=Cathy |title=The Madonna Connection |publisher=Westview Press |year=1993 |isbn=0813313961 |url=https://archive.org/details/madonnaconnectio00schw}}
• {{Cite book |last=Taraborrelli |first=J. Randy |author-link=J. Randy Taraborrelli |title=Madonna: An Intimate Biography |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-330-45446-9}}
• {{Cite book |last=Whiteley |first=Sheila |author-link=Sheila Whiteley |title=Women and Popular Music: Sexuality, Identity, and Subjectivity |publisher=Routledge |year=2000 |isbn=978-0415211895}}

{{refend}}

{{Madonna songs}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Madonna songs

Category:Madonna video albums

Category:1990 singles

Category:1990 songs

Category:1990 video albums

Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Cashbox number-one singles

Category:Censorship in the arts

Category:Obscenity controversies in music

Category:Songs written by Lenny Kravitz

Category:Songs written by Madonna

Category:Song recordings produced by Lenny Kravitz

Category:Song recordings produced by André Betts

Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles

Category:Music video compilation albums

Category:Music videos directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino

Category:Number-one singles in Finland

Category:Sire Records singles

Category:Warner Records singles

Category:Black-and-white music videos

Category:Music video controversies

Category:Songs based on poems

Category:Religious controversies in music

Category:Trip hop songs

Category:Experimental pop songs

Category:American hip-hop songs

Category:Songs about BDSM

Category:Christianity and Judaism related controversies

Category:Songs based on the Bible

Category:Music videos shot in France