Madonna’s brother Christopher Ciccone brands singer ‘horrifying’ as he opens up about feud
By Will Stroude
They might be back on speaking terms almost a decade after falling out over his tell-all book about her life, but it seems Madonna’s brother Christopher Ciccone has more to say.
The interior designer, 56, who worked for as his sister’s backstage dresser and show designer for years before his tell-all 2008 memoir Life with My Sister Madonna destroyed the pair’s relationship, has accused his “horrifying” sister of trying to destroy his career following their highly-publicised falling out.
“When I got back to LA my 500 acquaintances suddenly turned out to be four friends,” Ciccone told The Sun.
“She’s quite powerful in Los Angeles, in the industry. I was working in the industry doing music videos and tours and it was difficult to get work, if not impossible.”
Defending his memoir’s publication, Ciccone – who famously art-directed Madonna’s Blond Ambition tour and directed her The Girlie Show tour – continued: “I could have written that book, the book about how horrifying she is or can be, but I didn’t write that book.
“I was just looking for a little recognition for the work I’ve done for 20 years with her, that it wasn’t one person.”
Ciccone, who married British hairdresser Ray Thacker in June 2016 just a day after publicly announcing the couple’s engagement, also took aim at his sister’s recent live shows.
He said: “Her performance lost its theatricality to me and lost its connection to the audience.
“That was disappointing. How many tours have there been since ’94? Five? It’s difficult to watch them because I know what she’s capable of.
“It’s all screens and projections and Kabbalah and all this other stuff that the audience doesn’t really connect to.”
Despite the renewed public criticism, Ciccone insisted that while his relationship with his sister is on the mend – though for how much longer, only time will tell.
“We’ve gotten past that, we talk,” he said, adding: “I just talked to her a couple of weeks ago when I was at my father’s vineyard.”
“We email each other. Well, it’s passed for me, but I do know Madonna likes to hold grudges. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
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