Madonna opens up about forgiving her gay brother in emotional podcast debut
– 2 min read
Pop icon Madonna has opened up about her long-standing feud and eventual reconciliation with her younger brother, Christopher Ciccone, during her first-ever podcast interview on On Purpose with Jay Shetty.
The 67-year-old legend spoke candidly about the emotional toll of estrangement and the liberating power of forgiveness. Christopher, who was openly gay and had worked closely with Madonna as a tour and art director in the 1990s, passed away from cancer in October 2024 at the age of 63.
Their relationship had been strained for years, particularly after Christopher published a controversial tell-all memoir in 2008 titled Life With My Sister Madonna, which Madonna described as a betrayal. “For a really long time, it was my brother,” she said. “The hardest ones to forgive are the people you feel closest to. They’re your greatest ally and they turn on you. The people who hurt you the most are the people you love the most.”
The hardest ones to forgive are the people you feel closest to.
Madonna revealed that she hadn’t spoken to Christopher for years, but everything changed when he reached out during his illness. “He said, ‘I need your help,’ and I had that moment like, ‘Am I going to help my enemy?’ And I just did,” she shared. “It was such a load off my back, such a weight that was removed… to finally be able to be in a room with him, holding his hand - even if he was dying - and saying, ‘I love you and I forgive you.’ That was really important.”
The Queen of Pop also linked her journey of forgiveness to a near-death experience she had in 2023, when she was hospitalised with a severe bacterial infection and placed in a medically-induced coma. During that time, she said she had a vision of her late mother asking if she wanted to “come with her.” Madonna responded “no,” a moment she later interpreted as a sign that she needed to make peace with unresolved relationships.
As part of her healing process, Madonna has channelled her emotions into music. She revealed that her upcoming album will feature a song titled Fragile, inspired by her brother, and another called Forgive Yourself. “If you can’t forgive me, forgive yourself,” she said, quoting the chorus.
