Madonna has won a payout from the publishers of MailOnline at the High Court in London, following a “serious invasion of privacy” following her adoption of twin girls from Malawi earlier this year.

The 58 year old pop megastar signed a deal on Thursday (July 27th) accepting an undisclosed sum in damages from Associated Newspapers, who publish MailOnline. The case against them concerned the four year old twin girls, Stella and Estere, whom Madonna adopted from Malawi in February this year.

The singer brought the case in January, after MailOnline published a report revealing the girls’ names, race, age, the fact they lived in an orphanage in Malawi, and Madonna's application to adopt them.

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In court, her legal representative Jenny Afia told Mrs Justice Nicola Davies that the report had caused “considerable personal distress and anxiety”.

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Furthermore, it was published at a time when Madonna was “powerless” to do anything to protect them from the glare of publicity, and could have jeopardised the outcome of the adoption application.

“Their actions could, in her view, have threatened the integrity and/or outcome of the adoption process which would have had potentially life-changing implications for the girls, as well as for Madonna and her family,” Afia said.

MadonnaMadonna brought the case in January this year

Madonna plans to donate the sum she has won from Associated Newspapers to The Mercy James Institute for Paediatric Surgery in Malawi, in order that “at least some good can come out of the situation”.

“Madonna brought this litigation because the newspaper threatened her girls' safety by naming them before they were adopted,” Afia told reporters after the ruling had been handed down. “She will always take all possible steps to protect her family's well-being.”

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