Madonna reminisced about how they “danced through the madness of our childhood,” adding, “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,” the “Vogue” singer shared. “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.” He later joined her in New York, “where he applied his craft as a dancer and choreographer in support of his sister Madonna’s emerging singing career,” according to the family’s statement. Madonna wrote,
“And again we took each other’s hands, and we danced through the madness of New York City! We devoured art, music, and film like hungry animals in the epicenter of all these things exploding.” “We danced together on stage at 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,”
she continued, acknowledging his significant contributions to her early career. “We defied the Roman Catholic Church, the police, the Moral Majority, and all authority figures that stood in the way of artistic freedom!” She also recognized the complexities in their relationship.
“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.” Their rift seemed to arise from several issues, primarily discussed in Ciccone’s 2008 memoir, “Life with My Sister Madonna.”
In the book, he claimed Madonna outed him during a 1991 interview with The Advocate and alleged that her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie, was homophobic. He also pointed to a turning point in their relationship when she brought cameras to their mother’s grave for her documentary, “Truth or Dare.” At the time, a representative for Madonna told the Associated Press that while she had not read the memoir, she was aware of its contents.
