Madonna Remembers Brother in Heartbreaking Post: 'Never Be Anyone Like Him'

Madonna has broken her silence over the death of her brother Christopher in a heart-wrenching Instagram post.

Christopher Ciccone, 63, died Friday after battling prostate cancer. His death was confirmed Sunday, after which Madonna wrote, "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 went on, "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."

Calling out how important her brother's queer identity was in her formative years, she wrote, "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. 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 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."

Referring to his work on her controversial Blond Ambition tour, she recalled, "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 forgave him."

Her brother ran afoul of the Queen of Pop when, in the midst of a sibling fight, he published the tell-all "Life with My Sister Madonna" in 2008.

Madonna acknowledged their rift, writing, "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."

Commenting on rumors she had been paying for his treatment, she went on, "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."

In closing, she added, "I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere."

Madonna lost her older brother Anthony in 2023, nearly died herself after a bacterial infection, and lost her stepmother Joan Ciccone in September. Word of Christopher's death reached the family the very day of Joan's memorial service in Michigan.

Christopher is survived by his husband, his dad, and his six siblings and half-siblings.