Madonna broke her silence following the death of her brother Christopher Ciccone at 63, as she shared a heartbreaking tribute.
The singer, 66, posted a carousel of photos to her Instagram on Sunday, featuring her and Christopher, who died following a battle with cancer.
In a lengthy caption she honored her sibling — with whom she previously had a falling out over his tell-all book — noting the pair had been able to reconcile prior to his death.
‘My brother Christopher is gone. He was the closest human to me for so long. Its 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.’
‘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.’
Madonna, 66, broke her silence following the death of her brother Christopher Ciccone at 63, as she shared a heartbreaking tribute
‘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.’
She went on: ‘When I finally got the courage to go to New York to become a Dancer. My brother followed. And again we took each other’s hands, and we danced through the madness of New York City!’
‘We devoured Art and Music And Film like hungry animals. we were in the epicenter of all of these things exploding.’
‘We danced through the madness of the AIDS epidemic,’ the lengthy tribute continued.
‘We went to funerals and we cried, and we went dancing. We danced together on stage in the beginning of my career and eventually, he became my 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 forgive him.’
‘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. We did not speak for sometime but When my brother got sick. We found our way back to each other.’
‘I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible. He was in so much pain towards the end. Once again, we held hands We closed our eyes and we danced.Together.’
The singer posted a carousel of photos on Instagram featuring her and Christopher, who died following a battle with cancer
In a lengthy caption she honored her sibling — with whom she previously had a falling out over his tell-all book — noting the pair had been able to reconcile prior to his death
‘I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible. 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. I know he’s dancing somewhere’
‘I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere.’
Christopher famously wrote a tell-all about his famous sibling titled Life with my Sister Madonna, which caused a falling out between the pair.
The book included a number of bombshells about the Queen of Pop, such as details about her private relationship with ex-husband Sean Penn.
Christopher also shed light on his difficult relationship with the megastar causing a flurry of negative publicity at the time. However, Madonna notes that the pair were able to reconcile before his death.
Ciccone’s publicist confirmed to DailyMail.com on Sunday that he died following a battle with cancer.
He passed away peacefully on October 4 surrounded by his husband Ray Thacker and their loved ones at his home in Michigan.
‘Christopher’s loving spouse was faithfully by his side during the final stages of the cancer that would ultimately end his life,’ his representative said.
He is survived by his Queen of Pop sister and their siblings Martin, Paula, Melanie, Jennifer and Mario as well as their father and countless nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
‘He was an extremely talented man with a wicked sense of humor,’ one friend said.
Among the images she shared was a throwback photo of her brother
Christopher famously wrote a tell-all about his famous sibling titled Life with my Sister Madonna, which caused a falling out between the pair; they are seen in 1995
Ciccone’s publicist confirmed to DailyMail.com on Sunday that he died following a battle with cancer; seen in 1998
He passed away peacefully on October 4 surrounded by his husband Ray Thacker and their loved ones at his home in Michigan
Christopher and his sister worked closely throughout her career, but had a falling out in 2008 with Christopher’s bombshell book ‘Life with My Sister Madonna.’
His death comes after their stepmother, Joan Clare Ciccone, died on September 24 after a brief but aggressive battle with cancer.
Christopher worked as a designer, artist and director throughout his career organizing concert tours, music videos, and film, to commercial, residential interior and furniture design.
Once Madonna’s closest sibling, Christopher began his career as her assistant, dresser, stylist and artistic director.
Madonna and Christopher grew up together in Michigan and learned to dance together.
Then Christopher followed Madonna to New York, where she began her long journey to wealth and superstardom.
Christopher has been Madonna’s personal assistant and dresser, her interior decorator and artistic director of her show-stopping world tours.
But the siblings haven’t been without difficulties, with Christopher writing a tell-all book about his relationship with his sister – where he claimed Guy Ritchie ‘drove at him’ and admitted the pair ‘never got along’.
He also claimed Madonna’s romance with the British director was ‘death knell for my relationship with her’.
In latter years, Christopher relocated to Michigan to be near family many of whom are involved in his father’s winemaking enterprise, Ciccone Vineyards
Madonna is seen going to her first communion in 1967 with her siblings Marty, Melanie and Christopher in front
He added that the Material Girl hitmaker was ‘a middle-class girl who propagates the story that she landed in Times Square with just a pair of ballet shoes and $35 to her name,’ adding that is ‘pure mythology and the further she progresses, the more mythological her life story becomes’.
Like his brothers, he has also struggled with alcohol and drug abuse – with Madonna paying for his stints in rehab.
She dropped him as her tour director in 2003, then his tell-all memoir, ‘Life With My Sister Madonna,’ was published in 2008.
In 2016, he married British-born Thacker. The two were frequently separate by circumstance as Thacker was confined to England during the pandemic years but was ultimately by his husbands side as he battled cancer.
His relationship with his sister appeared on the mend by 2012, according to an interview with Evening Standard.
‘(We are) on a perfectly personable level right now. As far as I’m concerned, we’re good,’ he said.
He is survived by his husband, Queen of Pop sister and their siblings Martin, Paula, Melanie, Jennifer and Mario as well as their father
‘We are in contact with each other, although I haven’t seen her for a long time. We’re back to being a brother and sister. I don’t work for her, and it’s better this way.’
Additionally he stated his pride for his sister: ‘I couldn’t be more proud of her. She is a force to be reckoned with. Does she have Barbra Streisand’s voice? No.
‘Can she dance like Martha Graham? Probably not. But the combination of her abilities has made her great, and left a huge legacy for her, and through her, for me. So yeah, God bless her.’
In latter years, Christopher relocated to the upper reaches of Michigan’s lower peninsula for work and to be closer to family —many of whom are involved in his father’s winemaking enterprise, Ciccone Vineyards, in Sutton’s Bay near Traverse City.