Next time you’re out shopping and hear a woman roar, don’t be surprised if it’s Helen Reddy — though feminist pride’s got nothing to do with it.
Interviewed on BlogTalkRadio from her home in Sydney, the ’70s pop icon, who scored a monster hit with “I Am Woman” — which Sarah Jessica Parker and pals reprised in “Sex and the City 2” — recalls a recent spree that had her seething, and takes a swipe at Madonna for supposedly being responsible for it.
“I was in London earlier this year, and I had to get some new bras — because [mine] were falling off me,” Reddy, 68, tells host Janet Powers. At a department store, “I go into the women’s lingerie department, and they’ve got pasties — you know, like strippers wear,” Reddy says.
“They’ve got all these little fancy things, which all have wires — which I believe cause breast cancer — but nothing that’s for women who are older, or who are heavier, or who would like to dress like a lady.
“So I finally said to the salesgirl, ‘Do you have any underwear that isn’t slutty?’ — and she pointed me to the sports department!”
Reddy, who’s now retired from show business after making history as the first Aussie to have a No. 1 single in the US and win a Grammy — seemed to blame Madonna for her bra ordeal.
“When I was a girl, we used to complain we were divided into two groups: We were either virgins or we were whores,” she says. “And then along came Madonna — and now we’re all whores.
“It is horrifying to me to see these little girls, you know, dressed as sexpots, trying to imitate the latest video they’ve seen.” Sounds like Helen definitely isn’t Reddy for Lady Gaga.
The Material Mom’s spokeswoman told us, “Why should Madonna be blamed for Helen Reddy not being able to find a good-fitting bra? . . . I know plenty of whores who wear sports bras instead of bustiers. Don’t judge a book, Helen.”