Madonna is speaking out after the death of her brother. Christopher “Chris” Gerard Ciccone died from cancer on October 4 at the age of 63. His death was confirmed by a representative in a statement to People. He and his older sister shared a very close and special relationship from the sounds of it. On October 6, the “Material Girl” singer posted a heartfelt tribute on her Instagram in remembrance of Chris, calling him “the closest human to me for so long.”
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She and her brother 'danced' to survive their childhood.
Sharing a carousel of photographs of her and her brother, Madonna wrote an emotional message. “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,” she shared. “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.”
She remembers her brother always being by her side.
“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,” she added in her post. “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.
“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 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,” Madonna shared. “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.”
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Madonna called Chris a 'visionary.'
Madonna continued to speak about her brother’s character. “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 wrote in the post. “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.”
They were estranged for a while.
It appears that for some time, the two were estranged. But Chris’ cancer diagnosis brought them back together.
“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.💔”
Fans consoled the singer.
His death comes two years after that of their eldest brother.
Chris’ death comes less than two years after their eldest brother, Anthony Ciccone, died at the age of 66. His cause of death was respiratory failure and throat cancer. Christopher’s stepmother, Joan Gustafson Ciccone, also died of cancer at age 81 in September 2023. The siblings’ mother, Madonna Louise Ciccone, died of breast cancer shortly after Chris’ birth in 1963.
