Madonna’s daughter’s very normal secret job revealed… and it’s working with one of her mom’s enemies
She may be pop royalty, but Madonna’s daughter Chifundo ‘Mercy’ James has taken on a surprisingly down-to-earth job.
The 20-year-old adopted child of the iconic singer, 67, has been working behind the scenes on Bravo’s late-night talk show, Watch What Happens Live (WWHL), hosted by Andy Cohen.
The move is particularly notable given Madonna’s famous refusal to ever appear on the show across its 23 seasons. Cohen – whom the star branded a ‘troublemaking queen’ in 2023 – previously said he thinks her long-running snub comes down to other guests bashing her on the show in the past.
However, Mercy’s position at WWHL might just be the secret weapon needed to finally lure the Queen of Pop onto the show.
A source confirmed to The Daily Mail they had seen Mercy working at the studio a few weeks ago. The insider said, ‘she is lovely, just the sweetest most adorable girl.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Madonna, Cohen and WWHL for comment.
She may be pop royalty, but Madonna’s, 67, daughter Chifundo ‘Mercy’ James, 20, has taken on a surprisingly down-to-earth job; The mother and daughter duo seen in an Instagram photo
Mercy has been working on Watch What Happens Live, the Bravo talk show hosted by Andy Cohen, with whom Madonna has long shared a frosty relationship; Madonna and Cohen seen in 2025
Madonna’s longtime friend Rosie O’Donnell first revealed the news of Mercy’s job in a recent interview with People, as she praised the singer for being an ‘amazing mother’ and running a ‘very tight ship’ at home with her six children.
‘We text each other often, and I just saw her daughter on Watch What Happens Live. Her daughter, Mercy, works there.’
‘And it’s funny, Andy goes “look!” And I thought he was introducing me to just a staff member. And I was like, “Hi, what’s your name?” And she goes, “Rosie, it’s Mercy!” And I was like, “Oh my God, what are you doing here?”‘
‘But she’s worked there for like a year or so. So I was very happy for her and proud of her,’ O’Donnell added.
Aside from Mercy, who was adopted from Malawi, Madonna is also mother to five more children – daughter Lourdes, 29 (with ex Carlos Leon); son Rocco, 25 (with second ex-husband Guy Ritchie); son David, 20, adopted from Malawi in 2006; and twin daughters Estere and Stella, 13, adopted from Malawi in 2017.
As for Madonna’s parenting style, O’Donnell revealed that she was strict, stating: ‘I have to say, Madonna has done one hell of a job raising those children. She like ran a very tight ship. And I had a very not tight ship.’
‘You know, when her kids would come over, like Lola and Rocco, when they were little, and as soon as she left they came over for a play date and I would give them an ice pop. One of them fell on the floor and I was like, “You can have another one. We have so many ice pops here.” I turned on the cartoons. They didn’t get to watch TV.’
She went on to say that Madonna is ‘an amazing mother’ adding, ‘and those kids are concert pianists and artists and singers. She is pretty phenomenal, I have to say. And a motherless daughter. She had to mother without having been mothered. Even younger than I was when her mother died. I have nothing but respect and admiration.’
A source confirmed to The Daily Mail they had seen Mercy working at the studio a few weeks ago. The insider said, ‘she is lovely, just the sweetest most adorable girl’
Madonna’s longtime friend Rosie O’Donnell first revealed the news of Mercy’s job in a recent interview with People, as she praised the singer for being an ‘amazing mother’; Seen in 2019
‘She’s worked there for like a year or so. So I was very happy for her and proud of her,’ O’Donnell shared
Madonna poked fun of her tense relationship with Cohen in 2023, after she spotted him in the audience at her NYC show in 2023. ‘If you say one more bad thing about me on your show,’ she said, adding, ‘Oh yeah, you’re gonna be in so much trouble. You little troublemaking queen!’
Cohen previously said that ‘the problem’ appears to be ‘that a lot of people have slagged Madonna off on my show’ adding, ‘I think she sees me sitting there with the guest and I’m guilty by association’
Earlier this year Cohen said Madonna was the superstar he was still determined to get on his show one day.
Cohen previously explained on a November episode of the How to Fail podcast that ‘the problem’ appears to be ‘that a lot of people have slagged Madonna off on my show and because of that it gets picked up.’
‘I think she sees me sitting there with the guest and I’m guilty by association,’ he said.
One guest who previously had biting words for Madonna on the show was Patti LuPone, who called the star a ‘movie killer’ during her appearance on a 2018 episode.
After Madonna starred in the 1996 film adaptation of Evita, in the leading part LuPone originated on Broadway, LuPone said, ‘She’s dead behind the eyes. She cannot act her way out of a paper bag. She should not be in films or on stage.’
‘She’s a wonderful, you know, performer for what she does, but she is not an actress.’
Madonna poked fun of her frosty relationship with Cohen in 2023, after she spotted him in the audience at one of her New York City area concerts in 2023.
The singer was pictured walking up to Cohen in clips shared by fans, before playfully threatening him.
‘If you say one more bad thing about me on your show,’ she said, adding, ‘Oh yeah, you’re gonna be in so much trouble. You little troublemaking queen!’
However Cohen simply mouthed back ‘I love you.’
Mercy was a four-year-old orphan suffering from Malaria when Madonna adopted her from Malawi in 2009
Madonna is also mother to daughter Lourdes, 29 (with ex Carlos Leon); son Rocco, 25 (with second ex-husband Guy Ritchie); son David, 20, adopted from Malawi in 2008; and twin daughters Estere and Stella, 13, adopted from Malawi in 2017
‘I’m a life-long Madonna fan, so it’s a thrill and an honor to be called a ‘troublemaking queen’ by the Queen of Troublemaking. I BOW!’ he shared the next day in an Instagram post.
In 2025, Cohen made another stride to get into Madonna’s good graces, as he joined the singer at her star-studded fundraiser for the non-profit organization Raising Malawi, that she co-founded with Michael Berg in 2006.
Mercy was also in attendance, though it’s unclear if she was already working for Cohen at the time.
Mercy was a four-year-old orphan suffering from Malaria when Madonna adopted her from Malawi in 2009, which led to a legal battle due to her two divorces. The High Court initially rejected her application, but she was later approved to adopt.
In 2017, Madonna opened The Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care at Queen Central Hospital in Malawi in her honor.