Madonna has been a huge advocate in the fight against AIDS and it has been revealed that it was after the death of her gay friends that she decided to take action
The Queen of Pop Madonna turned grief into action by becoming a staunch AIDS activist following the devastating loss of her circle of friends during the catastrophic epidemic.
The 66-year-old’s brother Christopher Ciccone – who sadly passed away in October 2024 due to prostate cancer – was heard in uncovered tapes how the deaths of her gay friends drove her to help and support AIDS victims.
Among her heartfelt endeavours, she covered the medical costs for British artist Martin Burgoyne until his passing at just 23 in 1986 and even persuaded her then-beau Sean Penn to fetch experimental drugs from Mexico that offered a glimmer of hope against the relentless disease.
The Times has Madonna on record expressing her despair over her friend’s fate: “What could I do? I loved him. And people with AIDS are treated like they’re lepers or something. If they contract AIDS, all their friends disappear. That’s not a friend. How could I desert him? He was really my best friend.”
The La Isla Bonita singer had a creative partnership with Martin, after their initial meeting where he slung drinks as a bartender at an East Village club. Their friendship flourished; they became roommates, and he played crucial roles in both managing her first club tour and crafting the cover art for 1983’s ‘Burning Up’ single.
In poignant recollections captured in these unearthed recordings from her brother, set to feature in the forthcoming 90-minute Sky documentary ‘Becoming Madonna,’ Christopher speaks of his sister’s decision to dedicate her 1987 ‘Who’s That Girl?’ tour to Martin’s memory, which helped rake in a whopping $400,000 for the American Foundation for Aids Research.
Christopher Ciccone, brother to the Queen of Pop Madonna, was quoted by The Times as stating: “The AIDS benefit that we did at Madison Square Garden was emotionally taxing for everybody.” He added, “Especially for [Madonna], because of Martin. There had been so many friends of ours who had Aids.”
A multi-talented figure, Christopher also directed music videos for legends Tony Bennett and Dolly Parton and even dabbled in interior design. However, his relationship with Madonna turned sour after he released a scandalous tell-all book in 2008 titled ‘Life With My Sister Madonna’, which became a bestseller.
Despite their differences, the siblings eventually made amends and moved past their estrangement. In 2012, Christopher expressed his creativity further by launching his own line of footwear. Following the artist’s passing at 63 years old, just shortly after Madonna’s stepmother Joan Ciccone succumbed to a “very aggressive cancer,” Madonna reflected on her brother’s life, saying: “He had impeccable taste and a sharp tongue which he sometimes used against me.” She concluded, “But I always forgave him.”
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