Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Madonna Shares Heartbreaking Tribute After Her Brother Christopher's Death At 63

Madonna with brother Christophr Ciccone
Gary Friedman/The LA Times/GettyImages

The pop icon shared a poignant tribute on Instagram to her brother and creative director, Christopher Ciccone, after his death from cancer on Friday, remarking that "there will never be anyone like him."

Madonna paid a poignant tribute to her brother, Christopher Ciccone, who "died peacefully" Friday after battling cancer. He was 63.

Christopher was one of the singer's three younger siblings.


"My brother Christopher is gone," said the 66-year-old music icon of one of her three younger siblings.

"He was the closest human to me for so long."

The carousel of photos featuring her and her brother throughout her early life and career exemplified their close familial relationship.

She continued in her tribute post:

"It's hard to explain our bond. But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo."


Madonna explained how a common passion made them tighter and how it was a saving grace growing up in the Detroit suburbs of what is now Rochester Hills.

She continued:

"We took each other‘s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood. In fact dance was a kind of superglue that held us together."
"Discovering Dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and it saved him too."
"My ballet Teacher, also named Christopher- created a safe space for my brother to be Gay. A word that was not spoken or even whispered where we lived."
"When I finally got the courage to go to New York to become a Dancer. My brother followed."

The "Vogue" singer said she and Christopher "danced through the madness of New York City" and "devoured Art and Music and Film like hungry animals."

Despite being in the "epicenter of all of these things exploding," the siblings also "danced through the madness" of the AIDS epidemic that claimed the lives of many of their friends throughout the 1980s and '90s.

"We went to funerals and we cried," she recalled, but that didn't stop them from expressing their emotion and mourning losses together through dance.

Christopher was an artist, interior decorator and also served as the art director on Madonna’s Blond Ambition World Tour in 1990 and tour director for her The Girlie Show in 1993.

"We danced together on stage in the beginning of my career and eventually, he became the Creative Director, of many tours."
"When it came to good taste, my brother was the Pope, and you had to kiss the ring to get his blessing."
"We defied the Roman Catholic Church, The Police, the Moral Majority and all Authority figures that got in the way of Artistic freedom!"
"My brother was right by my side. He was a painter a poet and a visionary."
"I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, Which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him."

She continued:

"We soared the highest heights together. And floundered in the lowest lows."
"Somehow, we always found each other again and We held hands and we kept dancing."

"The last few years have not been easy," said Madonna, referring to their falling-out chronicled in his 2008 tell-all memoir, Life With My Sister Madonna, which became a New York Times bestseller.

Christopher claimed his sister outed him in her 1991 interview with LGBTQ+ magazine The Advocate, saying, “My brother Christopher’s gay, and he and I have always been the closest members of my family.”

He also alleged Madonna's ex-husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie, to whom she was married from 2000 to 2008, was homophobic.

Christopher said the "turning point" came when Madonna brought the camera crew to their mother's gravesite as part of her 1991 concert documentary film Truth or Dare.

"We did not speak for some time, but when my brother got sick, we found our way back to each other," she said.

"I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible."

She concluded the post with:

"He was in so much pain towards the end. Once again, we held hands We closed our eyes and we danced. Together."
"I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore."

"There will never be anyone like him," she said, adding:

"I know he’s dancing somewhere.💔"

Fans and music industry colleagues sent their heartfelt condolences for her loss.


@madonna/Instagram

@madonna/Instagram

@madonna/Instagram

@madonna/Instagram

@madonna/Instagram

@madonna/Instagram

@madonna/Instagram

@madonna/Instagram

@madonna/Instagram

@madonna/Instagram

A rep confirmed Christopher passed away in Michigan with his "loving" husband, British hairdresser Ray Thacker, who was “faithfully by his side.”

Christopher's death came less than two weeks after his and Madonna's stepmother, Joan Clare Ciccone, died from cancer.

Their mother, also named Madonna, died of breast cancer on December 1, 1963 when the future pop star was five.

Last February, the siblings lost their older brother, Anthony Ciccone.

More from Entertainment/music

Jesse Watters
Fox News

Jesse Watters Dragged After Adding Another Mind-Boggling Rule For 'Real Men'

Fox News host Jesse Watters, who is apparently an authority of what it means to be a manly man, gave jazz hands to make a point about how "real men" should or shouldn't wave.

The target of his ridicule was Tim Walz, the enthusiastic Democratic Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate who often greets the public by raising both hands in the air to wave.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of crowd at town hall and Rep. Mike Flood
@MorePerfectUS/X; KETV NewsWatch 7

GOP Rep. Goes Viral For His Response To Crowd Chanting 'Tax The Rich' At Town Hall

Nebraska Republican Representative Mike Flood was criticized following his incredulous response to a crowd that chanted "Tax the rich!" during a town hall meeting.

The Columbus High School auditorium hosted the town hall on Tuesday evening, drawing "nearly 380" attendees, according to local network KETV Omaha. The event was lively, with Flood facing both sharp criticism over Trump administration policies and some appreciation for showing up in person.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Awkward Typo In Elon Musk's Bizarre 'Education Department' Trump Meme Is A Total Self-Own

Billionaire Elon Musk was widely mocked after he celebrated President Donald Trump's executive order to begin to dismantle the Department of Education (DOE) by posting a meme of Trump at the department's grave, only for an awkward misspelling to get all the attention.

Polling indicates that eliminating the Education Department is largely unpopular, with 60% of registered voters opposing the move, according to a Quinnipiac University survey conducted March 6-10. Support stands at 33%, with opposition particularly strong among Democrats—98% oppose it, while just 1% support it.

Keep ReadingShow less
JB Pritzker; Donald Trump
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Dem Governor Reveals Trump's Bonkers Demand In Exchange For Equipment During COVID

Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker revealed during a speech this week that he clashed with President Donald Trump during the first Trump administration after Trump promised necessary medical equipment during the COVID pandemic on the condition that Pritzker praise him publicly.

Five years ago, the United States was grappling with the initial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country had entered shutdowns that had severe economic consequences, leaving businesses and industries on the brink of collapse.

Keep ReadingShow less
Scrabble tiles spelling the word scam
Scam spelled with scrabbles on a wooden table

People Break Down How They Realized An Entire Industry Was A Total Scam

We unfortunately live in a world where scams are on the rise.

Thankfully, some of them are pretty easy to detect, such as an automated call from the IRS telling you a warrant is out for your arrest, or an email claiming to be from Amazon or the USPS asking for your credit card information, only to look closer and see the email address is a yahoo account.

Keep ReadingShow less