Silent Hill creature designer and illustrator Masahiro Ito is clapping back at Madonna fans after a comment he made about one of her music videos rubbed a vocal group of listeners the wrong way.
Masahiro Ito is the mind behind some of horror’s most iconic monsters. The Bubble Head Nurses from Silent Hill 2, Pyramid Head, and many other creatures from the first three games in the series were born at least in part from his creative vision, birthing monsters that have remained staples in the genre to this day.
In May 2019, Ito opened up about one of his inspirations for the nurses’ movements in the Silent Hill franchise, citing the dancers in Madonna’s 1999 music video for "Nothing Really Matters." In the video, Madonna and her backup dancers used Butoh-style dance movements, a type of Japanese choreography that emerged after World War II characterized by slow, controlled motions, white, full-body makeup, and contorting one’s face and body into absurd and grotesque expressions.
Silent Hill’s nurses move in a similar way, so it’s not hard to see where he drew his influence from. Years later, however, this factoid is getting some flak from Madonna fans after he revealed that he isn’t actually into her music.
In May 2026, a fan credited Madonna for “literally being the inspiration for the atmosphere of Silent Hill 2” — but Ito didn’t necessarily agree.
“I said I [was] inspired by Madonna's Nothing Really Matters video,” he clarified. “But I meant the Butoh-like dances by Asian dancers painted entirely white in the video, not herself / her song. It was one of [the] inspirations for the Lying Figure, Bubblehead Nurses’ etc. animations. That's all. Please don't jump to conclusions.”
Unfortunately for him, Ito unintentionally kicked a hornet’s nest. A vocal segment of Madonna’s fanbase came out of the woodwork to criticize this particular statement, seemingly under the impression that he was hating on the iconic singer and trying to distance his work from her.
“The original post said the music video? So why are you being shady? Madonna’s concept of the video is the reason WHY you were inspired,” one argued at the time.
“So, you were inspired by the video? i don’t understand the difference and big deal and the hate that’s being sent to the original poster for being excited that you said an aspect of Madonna’s video inspired Silent Hill, which u just confirmed it did…,” another wrote.
Still others informed Ito that the original poster was most likely being hyperbolic and humorous, with their post probably getting misinterpreted by him — but either way, Ito said he was still facing fierce backlash due to his clarification on the subject.
It’s been over two months since then, and the criticism hasn’t completely died down. In August 2026, Ito once again posted screenshots from accounts harassing him about his Madonna tweet (though admittedly, some of them seem like simple trolls looking to get a rise out of him, rather than being diehard Madonna fans).
The designer described one of them as a “typical, low-IQ stan who starts a fight and then plays the victim when I just blocked them without replying,” adopting the social media stance of fellow Twitter-savvy game developer Hideki Kamiya, who’s somewhat famous for blocking and insulting rude commenters.
Despite all this, the situation has sparked a wave of support for Ito and reignited a discussion surrounding the inspiration of art from fellow artists, as well as sparking a renewed interest in learning about Butoh dance.
For more about Silent Hill, check out our review of the Silent Hill 2 remake, as well as our opinion on Silent Hill f and its decidedly different take on the beloved horror franchise.
Image Credit: YouTube - Madonna
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.
