( CNN ) Madonna , saying something controversial ? Perish the thought . The object of her scorn fighting back ? Of course . The mayor of Rochester , Michigan , has written an open letter to the venerable pop star , taking her to task for saying she never wanted to go back the town where she went to high school . `` I ca n't be around basic , provincial-thinking people , '' she told Howard Stern last week on his SiriusXM satellite radio program . You could almost hear the steam coming out of Mayor Bryan Barnett 's ears . `` It 's like someone calling one of your kids ugly , '' the Detroit Free Press quoted Barnett as saying . `` You 're not going to let that go by without a response . '' In his letter , published Monday in the Free Press , Barnett said the city 's recent achievements are anything but provincial . `` Our school district is one of the top performing in the state and boasts two Blue Ribbon Schools , the most in Michigan . Our Universities are among the fastest growing in the Midwest and are rich with cultural and ethnic diversity , '' he wrote . Buying Madonna 's house : A tale of fame and misfortune . `` We design and build more robots than any other city in North America , and Rochester Hills residents and businesses have been granted over 900 patents , nearly one a day , over the last three years . Not a typical achievement you would associate with 'simple or basic ' people , '' he wrote . He also noted the city was also named one of the 10 best places to live by Money magazine . `` We are many things , Madonna , but basic and provincial minded we are not ! '' Barnett wrote . `` I invite you back to Rochester Hills to see who we are and what we believe in . While we certainly do n't need your stamp of approval , I am quite confident we would earn it . '' Not surprisingly , some Rochester Hills citizens were n't thrilled with Madonna 's comments . `` Makes me proud to live in Rochester Hills after reading this letter to Madonna by @ MayorBarnett , '' Twitter user LoganBrown97 wrote . And although Madonna has n't responded to the fracas , she of course found some defenders on social media . `` Why is everyone mad Madonna said Rochester was basic ? '' Twitter user itsleah wrote . `` It IS basic . I thought that was the appeal ? Small towns ARE N'T for everyone , dummies . '' Of course , Madonna is no stranger to controversy , and she 's angered organizations a lot bigger and more powerful than Rochester City Hall . Remember the 1980s , when her `` Like a Prayer '' video angered the Catholic church ? Or the 1990s , when it seemed a camera could n't turn her direction without capturing simulated masturbation ? Then there was last year , when she had to backtrack after posting an Instagram photo of her son boxing , captioned with a take on the N-word . And in January , some took offense after she posted photos of civil rights icons altered to appear like the cover of her new album . Heck , this is n't even the the first time the singer has dissed a place where she grew up . In a 1987 interview with Jane Pauley , she called Bay City , Michigan , where she was born , a `` little smelly town in northern Michigan . '' A few moments later , Madonna followed up by saying she had `` great affection '' for the place . So far , no such love for Rochester Hills . Nor has the pop icon accepted the mayor 's invite to return to her hometown for a visit .
Madonna angers Michigan , the Rochester Hills , mayor by criticizing the town . `` I ca n't be around basic , provincial-thinking people , '' the singer said .