SMOKING a suspicious-looking cigarette and hanging around a notorious skate
park with much older boys, these are the video and pictures of Madonna’s
wayward son Rocco that have struck fear into her heart.
The pop queen, 57, is becoming increasingly desperate to win her battle with
ex husband Guy Ritchie for custody of the 15-year-old and persuade him to
leave London.
And she has been shocked by evidence that her son is in danger of being drawn
into a seedy and dangerous world of soft drugs and teenage hoodie gangs.
It is a million miles from the mega-rich showbiz lifestyle in New York where
she believes she can keep him safe.
And she blames Guy for – as she sees it – failing to provide proper parental
supervision for their son.
In turn, Guy is understood to be “furious” at Madonna branding him a bad
parent and has accused her of “paranoia”.
The Sun on Sunday revealed last weekend that Rocco
had been hanging out with older teenagers who were smoking cannabis.
He was also photographed smoking and holding a suspicious-looking cigarette as
the group laughed and joked at a skate park on London’s South Bank.
Today The Sun can reveal more videos and photos which show that it was far
from an isolated incident.
Rocco has been a regular at the skate park outside the BFI for several weeks
and was seen on separate occasions in January and February holding roll ups.
At one point he appeared to use a grinder, which is commonly used to shred
cannabis.
The video and images have left Madonna “shocked and devastated”.
But time is running out for her to persuade headstrong Rocco to give up his
life in London with his film director dad.
A full custody hearing is scheduled for next month.
A source said: “Rocco is running wild on the streets of London without any
thought about how this is affecting him in the long term.
“Any teenager given that kind of freedom is likely to behave in a certain way.
“He needs proper supervision and a firm guiding hand at this crucial stage in
his development.
“Is him smoking like this in public with a gang of older boys really
appropriate?
“Some might say that Rocco is only doing what thousands of young British
teenagers in parks all over the UK.
“But it is certainly not what Madonna wants for her son.”
Madonna, 57, is a woman used to getting her own way and she doesn’t intend the
custody battle to be any different.
After a gruelling few months, which have seen Rocco openly defy his mother’s
request to come home, the tide may be finally turning in her favour.
The bitter fight began after Rocco fled his mum’s Rebel Heart world tour last
year to go and live with his dad, step-mum Jacqui Ritchie and their three
children Rafael, 4, Rivka, 3, and Levi 18 months, where it is claimed he is
given far more freedom.
The lad reportedly became fed-up with Madonna’s strict parenting methods and
the two fell out when she confiscated his mobile phone because she believed
it was interfering with his studies.
Madonna was forced to take the humiliating step of going to the Supreme Court
in New York two days before Christmas.
A judge ordered Rocco to return to the city in time to start the new term at
elite school Lycee Francais where he is enrolled. So far the teen has
ignored the ruling.
Madonna jetted to the UK two weeks ago in a last ditch attempt to persuade her
son to return to live with her and adopted siblings David,10, and Mercy, 9,
but her pleas fell on deaf ears.
The absence of Rocco’s older half-sister Lourdes, who is currently living away
at university in Michigan, is understood to be part of the reason he is
reluctant to return to America.
A source said: “Rocco and Lourdes have always been close and he finds it hard
to live with his mother without her there.”
Relations between Madonna and Guy, who were married for eight years, have
become “ugly” according to those close to the situation.
A huge bone of contention has been Rocco’s absence from school since he has
been living in London, especially in an exam year.
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A pal of Madonna’s said: “’He should have been home already. Madonna is a
devoted mother and a big priority is her children’s education.”
Meanwhile Guy, who is dyslexic and was expelled from school at 15, wants Rocco
to have freedom and space.
Rocco showed his love for his dad – and a new edgy shaved scalp – when they
were seen together on Thursday enjoying some quality time in London
together.
A pal of Ritchie’s told The Sun: “Guy wants to wait until Rocco’s future is
decided before making any plans for his schooling.
“He feels he is repairing the damage done to Rocco through being on tour with
his mother last year and is in fact keeping a watchful eye over his son.”
Another flash point between the pair has been their opposed parenting styles.
By her own admission Madonna has always been a disciplinarian, punishing her
children if they fail to keep their rooms tidy, banning sugar and limiting
gadget use.
By contrast Guy, who received more than £50million in his divorce settlement
from Madge, is understood to favour a more laid-back approach.
A Ritchie insider said: “It’s about a fundamental difference in parental
philosophies”, adding that the director views his ex’s “old-school” approach
as “counter-productive” and “harming Rocco’s self-esteem and confidence at
such a crucial part of his life.”
Friends told how Rocco is allowed to go skateboarding with his friends, play
guitar until the early hours of the morning and go shooting with his dad at
his estate in Wiltshire.
The high-profile, transatlantic custody tussle appears to be taking a heavy
emotional toll on the Material Girl.
Despite her jet setting lifestyle, she has always kept her kids close, hiring
an army of private tutors so they can travel the world at her side.
The star previously admitted falling into a “deep depression” when Lourdes
left for university in 2014.
She said at the time: “I’m always so happy when she calls me and she says,
‘Mommy, I miss you’ or ‘I need you to rub my head’.“
The usually thick-skinned singer has recently taken to pouring out her
feelings on her Instagram account.
This week she posted an old picture of herself with children Lourdes, David
and Rocco in happier times with the caption: “Days of innocence. In
Malawi. How I miss this time.”
She also posted pictures of adopted kids David and Mercy wearing spiritual
bracelets this week as they visiting a temple in Bangkok on the Thai leg of
her tour. The snap was captioned: ‘Brotherly Sisterly Love 4 Ever.’
Alongside another picture she wrote: “David. Praying with the monks at
Wat Pho in Bangkok! Receiving blessings for his brothers and sisters.”
Another recent post showed a backstage snap of her with her brood in happier
times with the caption: ‘It’s possible to be an entertainer and a good
mother!!! Too bad we don’t live in a society where many encourage strong
independent single working moms!’
And last month she gushed over a fan’s encouraging letter on Instagram.
A line in the note read: “We’re crying with you, but we know you will get
through this as you always do.”
Madonna wrote alongside the post “Thanks soooooo much for this! It means
a lot to me! One word of kindness it can save me!”
Usually the consummate professional, the strains of the custody battle have
spilled over into her stage show.
At a performance in Nashville in January she raised eyebrows by allegedly
referring to her ex-husband as a “c**t”.
And welling up on stage in Mexico City she told the audience: “I, too, go
through challenging times in my life and right now is one of them.”
The recent pictures of Rocco were believed to be the last straw. Madonna is
famously clean living, never touches drugs and rarely even boozes.
Last year the singer caused controversy when she told chat show host Jonathan
Ross that she wouldn’t tell Lourdes not to try drugs because she had dabbled
in her own youth.
But a pal said: “Lourdes was 18 at the time, it is a completely situation to
Rocco who is just 15.”
Legal experts told The Sun how Guy could face an uphill struggle when the
custody case is heard in a US court next month if it is deemed he has helped
his son defy the orders of a judge.
Michael Stutman, head of family law at the New York office of top firm Mishcon
de Reya, said: “If it were me I would be asking if Mr Ritchie bought Rocco a
plane ticket.
“If he can’t show he is making significant effort, he has a long road ahead of
him.
“If Mr Ritchie deters his son from returning that puts him in a very poor
situation vis-a-vis the New York proceeding.”
But friends close to Guy told how the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
filmmaker is becoming infuriated by claims he is a bad parent.
A source said: “Guy feels he has nothing to hide and has lately been getting
very emotional about Madonna’s paranoia which he thinks are further harming
his son’s self-esteem.
“He obviously wants the best for Rocco.
“He’s also frequently telling his lawyers that if Madonna cared so much for
her son, why is she still on tour?
“Guy has put his career on hold to help look after Rocco. Madonna wants him to
abandon the custody battle which he has no intention of doing.”
Throughout the crisis, Madonna has found an unlikely shoulder to cry on in the
shape of her first husband, actor Sean Penn, 55.
The pair had a volatile marriage in the 1980s but recently their closeness has
sparked rumours they may even be dating again.
It has been suggested Madonna’s closeness to her ex is another source of
tension between her and Rocco who reportedly dislikes Sean.
The Oscar winner, who split from fiancee Charlize Theron last year, took his
24-year-old daughter Dylan to Madonna’s concert and introduced the two women
backstage afterwards.
And last month Madonna gushed about her feelings for her Penn during a speech
at a charity benefit where they were also pictured holding hands.
She told the audience: “I want to say Sean that I love you, from the
moment that I laid eyes on you and I still love you just the same.”
Wherever she draws her strength, Madonna has no intention of letting her son
slip away easily.
A pal said: “She is going to fight, fight, fight and she’s going to fight to
the end. She is not happy.
“She is an excellent mother, and people can say whatever they want-but her
children mean the world to her.”