was so eager to extricate themselves from the controversy that they even allowed Madonna to keep the $5 million advance. While most TV stations banned the music video, MTV notably continued to air the music video on heavy rotation. The controversies leading to her "Like a Prayer" music video introduced the concept of free publicity and became a turning point where Madonna was viewed as a shrewd businesswoman who knows how to sell a concept; In the meantime, Pope John Paul II involved himself in the matter and encouraged fans to boycott the singer in Italy. Protests from a small Catholic organization in the country prompted Italian state television network RAI and Madonna's record company WEA to not air the video there. The video was also deemed offensive by the Christian fundamentalist American Family Association (AFA). Madonna stated that "art should be controversial, and that's all there is to it", about the controversy. The video received mostly positive response from the journalist and critics. Jamie Portman from The Daily Gazette felt that the clip could be "vulnerable to charges of being blatantly provocative in its calculated blending of sex and religion". David Rosenthal from The Spokesman-Review found the video as "visually stunning"; however, Edna Gundersen from USA Today did not understand the media mayhem behind the clip. She pointed out that "Madonna is a good girl in the video. She saves someone. What is the big deal?..." Among music critics, Phil Kloer from Record-Journal felt that whether one condemns the video as anti-Christian or racist, "It's condemnable on the face of it because it exploits a symbol of evil [the burning crosses of the Ku Klux Klan] as a fabulous source of light and rake up album sales." Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Chris Willman complimented the video for its portrayal of a love song, rather than blasphemy. He was more interested in the stigmata presented in the clip. At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, "Like a Prayer" was nominated in the Viewer's Choice and Video of the Year categories, winning the former. Coincidentally, the award show was sponsored by Pepsi that year, and when Madonna received the award onstage she added, "I would really like to thank Pepsi for causing so much controversy." "Like a Prayer" also topped video countdowns and critic lists. It was number one on MTV's countdown of "100 Videos That Broke The Rules"