Madonna Gets the Boot Again, This Time From Reebok

Reebok has stopped holding its breath for “Breathless” Madonna.

The rock star, who plays the sensual Breathless Mahoney in the film “Dick Tracy,” was dropped late Tuesday as a spokeswoman for the athletic shoe maker even before filming a single commercial. Reebok and Madonna, 31, had previously agreed to--but not signed--a contract that would reportedly have paid her nearly $6 million.

“Madonna’s availability and our need to get her weren’t a mesh,” said Bernadette Mansur, Reebok’s vice president of marketing communications. “We needed to get some benefits out of it to continue with the deal.”

For Madonna, who is currently on a world tour that has received mixed reviews, the Reebok action must bring feelings of deja vu. Last year, Pepsi signed a $5-million endorsement contract with Madonna but aired her spot only once before yanking it from the U.S. market. The commercial was being confused by some consumers with her “Like a Prayer” music video that featured religious imagery that some found offensive. Pepsi later pulled out from sponsoring Madonna’s planned U.S. tour.

At the same time, suits and countersuits have been filed between Nike and Madonna. Representatives for Madonna claim the singer and Nike had signed a $4.25-million endorsement contract for which she was never paid. And in May, her song “Hanky Panky” was banned from some radio stations that received objections to lyrics like these: “Some guys like to sweet talk and others like to tease. Tie my hands behind my back and ooh, I’m in ecstasy.”

Madonna, her manager and publicist were all out of the country and unavailable for comment.

A Pepsi spokesman declined to comment on the company’s short-lived experiment with Madonna. But spokesman Tod MacKenzie said, “Any time you get involved with a personality of that stature, there’s always the risk of the unknown.”

One consultant who matches celebrities with sponsors said she is not surprised by the latest snafu between Madonna and Reebok. “Between her films, her concerts and her love affairs, I’m sure there would be a problem with most advertisers,” said Noreen Jenney, president of Woodland Hills-based Celebrity Endorsement Network. “It takes a very special advertiser to take these kinds of risks.”