Madonna reveals she’s recorded new song ‘Fragile’ for late brother Christopher as she opens up about ‘forgiving’ him
Ciccone died in Los Angeles in June 2024 after a private battle with throat cancer. He had worked as an interior designer and artist
By Callum Wells
Madonna has revealed she’s recorded a new song ‘Fragile’ for her late brother Christopher Ciccone, which will feature on her forthcoming album, due next year.
Speaking on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, the singer discussed her complex relationship with Ciccone, who worked as art director on her Blonde Ambition Tour and tour director for The Girlie Show in the early 1990s. The siblings became estranged following the release of Ciccone’s 2008 tell-all memoir Life With My Sister Madonna, which detailed personal aspects of their relationship and her career.
Although Ciccone claimed in 2012 that the two had reconciled, Madonna said they remained apart for years. Ciccone died of cancer in 2024 at the age of 63.
“The people who hurt you the most are the people you love the most” – Madonna on her relationship with Christopher Ciccone
“Holding a grudge, hating someone or wanting them to suffer… it’s a kind of poison, a kind of cancer. That’s why it’s important to find a way to forgive people who you perceive as your biggest enemies,” she told Shetty. “For a really long time, it was my brother, who died recently.
“I think the hardest ones are the people you feel like you’re the 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,” she explained.
Madonna admitted it wasn’t easy to act when her brother reached out during his illness. “For my brother, I didn’t speak to him for three years. Years and years,” she said. “And it was him being ill and reaching out to me and saying, ‘I need your help,’ that means having that moment, like, ‘Am I gonna help my enemy?’ And I just did”.
“It was such a load off my back, such a weight that was removed” – Madonna on reuniting with her brother
The moment of reconciliation left her feeling “so relieved”, with the singer recalling: “It was such a load off my back, such a weight that was removed, baggage that was put down to finally be able to be in a room with him and holding his hand, even if he was dying, saying, ‘I love you and I forgive you.’ That was really important.”
Ciccone died in Los Angeles in June 2024 after a private battle with throat cancer. He had worked as an interior designer and artist in his later years.
Madonna announced earlier this month that she will release her new album, tentatively titled Confessions on a Dance Floor Part 2, next year – a follow-up to the original Confessions, released in 2005.
During her appearance on On Purpose, she also opened up about experiencing suicidal ideation during her 2016 custody battle with ex-husband Guy Ritchie over their son, Rocco.