NEWSMadonna Reveals Why She Forgave Her Brother on His Deathbed After 'Very Long' Feud: 'That Was Really Important'
During her first podcast interview, Madonna revealed that holding grudges feels 'poisonous.'
Sept. 29 2025, Published 5:43 p.m. ET
Madonna dished on her mental health, medical complications and her personal life during her first-ever podcast interview.
The music icon appeared on the Monday, September 29, episode of "On Purpose With Jay Shetty," where she opened up on the rocky relationship she had with her later brother, Christopher Ciccone.
Madonna Finds It 'Liberating to Forgive'
Madonna insisted it feels 'liberating to forgive,' citing the end of her own feud with her late brother.
Halfway through their two-hour chat, the duo talked about forgiveness, which spurred the Grammy winner, 67, to explain why she chose to forgive her cancer-stricken brother after a long feud.
"It is liberating to forgive. I'm a fighter. If somebody messes with me, they're gonna get it. But when things happen to you and there's not a tangible enemy you can put your finger on, you have to lean into radical acceptance," she explained.
The singer said holding a grudge against someone feels like 'a prison.'
"There are things that have happened to me in my life that I just thought, 'I will never forgive this person.' Now, I don't wanna have those feelings anymore. Because they're really — it's a prison and it's poison to not be able to forgive and to live in a state of holding a grudge or hating someone or wanting them to suffer," the "Like a Virgin" vocalist spilled. "It's like a kind of cancer. That's why it's important to find a way to forgive, even people you perceive as your biggest enemies."
The Singer Once Considered Her Brother Her 'Biggest Enemy'
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The superstar admitted she didn't talk to her brother Christopher Ciccone 'for a really long time.'
The mom-of-six revealed that for "a really long time," that person was her brother.
"The people that hurt you the most are the people that you love the most," Madonna noted. "And what you think is going to save you is vengeful thoughts, like that's gonna give you some magical power. It doesn't, it just weighs you down and eats at you. It's poisonous."
"Knowing that I had to forgive my brother... Eventually I did. If someone you love deeply betrays you... it's a bitter pill for me to swallow — I can't speak for everyone," the "Vogue" crooner continued.
"For my brother, I didn't speak to him for years and years, and it was him being ill and reaching out to me saying, 'I need your help,'" that led to them reconnecting, she revealed.
The Star Felt 'Relieved' After They Reconciled
The mom-of-six called it 'really important' that she made up with her brother before he died.
The singer recalled asking herself, "Am I gonna help my enemy?"
"I felt so relieved," she confessed of helping him. "It was such a weight that was removed. I could finally be in a room with him and holding his hand, even if he was dying, and saying, 'I love you and I forgive you,'" Madonna expressed. "That was really important."
Ciccone was 63 when he passed away from cancer in October 2024.
The fashionista and Ciccone had a falling out after he shaded her in his 2008 memoir.
