Madonna explains complicated relationship with her late brother Christopher Ciccone

Pop icon called her brother ‘a painter, a poet and a visionary’ with ‘impeccable taste and a sharp tongue… which he sometimes used against me’

Madonna has shared a heartbroken statement following the death of her brother and close collaborator, Christopher Ciccone.

Ciccone’s representatives confirmed the news of his death on Sunday 6 October, saying he died of cancer on Friday in Michigan.

“My brother Christopher is gone,” Madonna, 66, wrote in a post to Instagram, sharing several photos of her and Ciccone together.

“He was the closest human to me for so long. It’s 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.

“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.”

The “Material Girl” star praised her former ballet teacher, also called Christopher, for creating a safe space for her brother to be open about being 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,” she said. “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 epicentre 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 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.”

Ciccone was an artist, dancer and designer who appeared in a number of Madonna’s music videos, including “Lucky Star”. He also served as the art director for her Blond Ambition world tour and as tour director for her The Girlie Show tour.

Christopher Ciccone directed the music video for Madonna’s hit single ‘Lucky Star’ (AP)

Madonna called her brother “a painter, a poet and a visionary” with “impeccable taste and a sharp tongue… which he sometimes used against me, but I always forgave him.”

She addressed the period where she and her brother did not speak to one another, having fallen out following the publication of his bestselling autobiography, Life with My Sister Madonna, in 2008.

In the book, he wrote about their strained relationship, her romantic entanglements and his recollections of his time accompanying her on tour.

“We found our way back to each other,” Madonna said of their reconciliation before his death. “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. I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore.

“There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere.”

Ciccone’s death comes just weeks after the death of Madonna’s stepmother, Joan Clare Ciccone, also to cancer. Her older brother, Anthony Ciccone, died last year.