Madonna Faced 'Uncomfortable Questions' Before Adopting Twins

After initially denying reports that she was in the process of adopting more children from Malawi, Madonna confirmed Wednesday she had done just that—twin girls. A judge in the African country ruled in favor of the adoption Tuesday after asking Madonna what he termed "uncomfortable questions" in court papers obtained by the AP. The judge said he felt such questions were necessary to make sure the "professional performer" wasn't "merely reciting a well-rehearsed speech." He added that Madonna was "very candid" in her answers. In an Instagram post Wednesday night, she revealed her new daughters' names when she shared a photo of other Malawi orphans and noted, "There are 650 Orphans at Home of Hope where Estere and Stelle have lived for 4 years since they were 5 days old."

In her initial Instagram post confirming the adoption, Madonna said she was "overjoyed" to add the girls to her family and asked for privacy from the media. But the AP has some details from the court papers, including the fact that Madonna kept the girls' birth names in an effort to preserve their Malawian identities. They were born via cesarean section and their birth mother died within a week due to birth complications; their father, who attended an adoption hearing last month, was not able to provide for all of his dependents, which include five older siblings of the twins. People notes that back in July, Madonna posted an Instagram photo of the girls (in which she refers to them as "Stella and Esther") with now-older-sister Lourdes, who was with Madonna at the girls' orphanage at the time. Madonna, 58, now has six children. (These 17 celebs have adopted kids from overseas.)