Madonna’s brother Christopher Ciccone was on Good Morning America again today to promote his book Life with My Sister Madonna
The segment started out with him saying “I didn’t set about to knock her off her pedestal, I set about to push a nice little staircase up, help her walk back down to earth with the rest of us.”
Madonna’s “Cinderella Childhood” is a myth:
Chris says Madonna grew up in a middle class home and that it’s not true
that she went to NY knowing no one with just $35 in her pocket.
Deborah Roberts “The Madonna that you see now, does she resemble that girl that you knew so many years ago, that you grew up with?”
Christopher Ciccone: “Not after the face lift… yeah in some ways. I think ultimately she’s a lonely person. Unfortunately it truly is lonely at the top.”
DR: “Would you say Madonna was mostly good to you over the years, or was it a double edged sword?”
CC: “It was a double edged sword… where there was a gift there was also a slap, so it balanced itself out in some ways, but in the end I had to step back.”
Madonna rolling on our mother’s grave in “Truth or Dare” was a turning point
Deborah Roberts explains that Chris refused to be filmed at their mother’s grave for the “Truth or Dare” documentary. He claims that Madonna invited him there and that he was suprised she brought a camera crew along. He says that was when something changed for him.
“If you’ve seen the ‘Truth or Dare’ movie when she’s rolling around on my
mother’s grave. That was a turning point for me and my relationship with her. I kept it inside, but I thought to myself ‘There are no boundaries there. My mother has now become a bit player in her life story,’ and it hurt me.”
Madonna was cheap and stiffed our grandmother
“I wanted [Madonna] to look after her. To get her a driver and a car. She’s 97 right now. It seemed like the easiest thing to do… she gave her $500 a month and pays for her medical bills. ”
On his financial motivation for the book
“I’m happy to get paid for my work, so I don’t have a problem with that. I’m also happy to get paid for the first time what I think I’m worth.”
DR: “Did you get paid handsomely? Seven figures?”
CC: “I’m not unhappy with it. ”
On Madonna’s reaction to his book
“I know that her reaction… she went to the worst place. That I was going to discuss private medical matters, that I was going to tear her apart. She was very upset and since I wasn’t responding to her she was calling my father and trying to get him to chose sides, which I thought was a bit on the low side.”
DR: “Do you think she’ll speak to you again after this book?”
CC: “I think so, I hope so… I don’t want to talk to her unless we’re speaking to each other as equals… if she stays together with her husband and that means we don’t have a relationship, that’s cool with me…
“What I’m suggesting is that Guy’s attitude… and her attitude towards me needs to change… I’d like to get to know my niece and nephew better, I’d like to meet David. My parents still haven’t met him.”
Chris says “I love my sister… it will take some time for us to find our
way back to a good place. I’m not sure when or if that will happen.”
This guy sure knows how to give a good interview and I bet this book will be a best seller. I know I want to read it now, because you can tell he’s not afraid to say how it is.
I like this guy, even though no one else seems to. He seems straightforward and I believe what he says.
What’s the Warren Beatty quote?
“She doesn’t want to *live* off-camera.”
Blah, blah, blah. Nothing about Madonna is shocking, unless he says that she has both man and lady parts…no, not even that would be surprising.
Madonna’s richer than King Midas, so I agree that she should help out her Grandma more! Hell, even I can afford to send my Grandma more than $500 a month and I’m definitely not rich!
I like him, too. Madonna is not THE Madonna and it appears she has hurt him in many ways.
I don’t usually buy or read books like this, but I’m starting to think I might on this one.
While I also believe what he says, Its hard to separate the motivation from the facts. Anyone knows more dirt will sell better–and probably make him more money if he got that kind of a deal. I’m not sure if I will read it or not because it seems like such a terrible thing to do to your family. Then again, I read Mommie Dearest and got over the famiy thing. Hmmmmmmmmmm.
“Madonna is not THE Madonna…”
Maybe someone needs to point that out to her, diva.
I just find him completely scummy. Notice how he tries to come across as a stand-up guy in all these extracts. Give me a break. 🙄
I love this guy, he keeps it real. “The not after the face lift” quote is classic
He just HAD to throw that dig in about the face lift. Thats what everyone was nosiest about when she had the black eyes.
This is going to be my summer book. Sweet.
What’s the old saying, “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer”.
lol – makes mental note to gift siblings shortly. haha.
See…here’s what I think: I think that if you get famous and then treat people like garbage or, worse, treat them like gold and then throw them away when you’re “done” with them…you’re gonna get this kind of thing.
Famous people get too big for their britches…almost all of them. It would be hard not to, honestly, with all that money, all that leisure time, and all those people following you around to take your picture. I mean…after a while, even the saintliest among us would be tempted to start believing that what we eat for lunch and where we buy our underwear really IS a big deal. Celebrities are waited on hand and foot when they are working, and after a while, you probably start to forget that you don’t actually DESERVE to have people sort your M&Ms and test your bottled water with a thermometer before bringing it all to you.
So. I contend that Madonna is reaping what she sowed. Her brother may or may not be a scumbag…but he’s been silent and unimposing for decades. You gotta think…what did the heinous b**ch to do him or to his family that made him angry enough to finally come out with this book?
It should be a warning to all celebrities. Truly. Don’t be a jerk. Don’t treat people like crap. One day…one of the insignificant little people might just swim up to the surface and bite you in the…hubris.
It’s clear to me Christopher Ciccone put a great deal of honesty into this book, at least he is very honest with his perspective on how everything went down.
It seems like both brother and sister have big fat Italian egos. But sisters is much worse. At least brother is likeable.
The part about Madonna being cheap with her Grandmother is disgusting. Either support her fully financially or don’t support her at all. Madonna is a multi multi multi millionaire after all, for Pete’s sake. What a cheap loser she is. Just a media whore at heart. Way to go Christopher for exposing her for what we all knew she really was. A cheap petty self centered prostitute, for lack of a better word.
By the way, Madonna makes Angelina Jolie’s shortcomings very easy to overlook – because although Angelina may (or may not) have been a “homewrecker”, at least she’s not selfish and cheap like Madonna.
From the other excerpt I read+ this one,
#1 he never seems to have any money and wants her to always wants her to do everything for him/pay for everything. He was in his 40s and couldnt afford the plane ticket to her wedding……??? He sounds like a leech.
#2 – he said slamming her and pointing these things out was part of his memoir, but that isnt the case with her visiting her mothers grave in her documentary, seems a bit hypocritical of him
#3 She was very upset and since I wasn’t responding to her she was calling my father and trying to get him to chose sides, which I thought was a bit on the low side.”
Her calling their father after he ignored her phone calls about the nasty tell all book he was writing is on the low side????? But a nasty tell all book then is the high road???
This guy is a total loser.
Agree, total loser. And obviously (to me) a total leech who hopes to succeed in life by dragging her down. What an asshole of a brother.
Not that I’m a fan of Madonna – I admire her work ethic and insane willpower but not much else.
No matter who you are, what your position in society, if your goal in life is to build bridges and grow together, more power to you.
If you climb the ladder by stepping on others – meh. Loser, no respect from me.
I don’t know what I think. I agree with Aspen AND Troy. I guess I’ll read it and figure it out then. I read Valerie Bertinelli’s book, clearly I am a glutton for punishment.
@ Geronimo, yeah, he DID come across sounding like a sort of martyr in the book, now that you mention it, I mean, I did definitely believe what he wrote and the way he described his sister & their life together on tour, etcetera, sounded very genuine. I miss very little when I read what people have written, and I can almost always tell if the writer has used a ghost for their memoir or “tell-all” book, but this one reads like it comes from his own typewriter, albeit no doubt with the aid of a proofwriter and copywriter after the task.
I was at Border’s yesterday, to pick up a couple new Moleskins journals for my own essay writing, and spotted this new Christopher Ciccone book, had to dive into it, of course, and couldn’t tear myself away from it for a good hour. Madonna is one of my childhood/teenage icons, and that part of who she is to me will never, ever fade or go away, I’ve been her fan for many years and now I’m just observing, trying to be polite and respectfulabout the observing part of the phase of my fandom. She’s almost 50 years old, now, so at this point, she’s stoked if a lifetime female fan of hers is still a loyal fan, if not of her current pop offerings, at least of her legacy and the flavor and sound she added to my youth. So, she’s got a few power/ego-trippin’ superstar-related character flaws – well, this is what we find, in the wildly, formidably financially successful among us in this life, massive egos and obsessive, relentless drive.
The book was rife with tender reminiscience on Christoper’s part regarding his sister, yet at the same time he never missed the opportunity to interject his own veiled bitterness toward her burgeoning success, as far back as the mid-eighties; he was constantly on tour with her for like 10 or 15 years or something, always with her; wherever she went, there he was. But he seems to carefully pluck a few isolated instances during this long tenure of his partnership with her on her career-track to highligh what a put-upon, perfect, long-suffering, quietly giving, uncomplaining saint he was at these little chosen points, while illuminating the cold, gum-chewing, “What’s wrong, Chrissy?,” thoughtless, self-serving, callous and power-hungry wicketude of his super-succesful sister, and it struck me as coming off very self-aggrandizing and martyrish of Christopher Ciccone in these instances in his book. You get the feeling there was way more to the story than just the picture he’s dolefully painted, in those excerpts.
I bagged on the guy without mercy in the last Celebitchy article here abouty him, mainly because he was throwing gang signs in the header photo and I couldn’t get over how utterly puerile and douchie the phot made him look, but – seriously, one truly ouht not judge a book until one’s opened it up and read between the covers, or – no, no, how does that saying go? Book, cover, judge, um – read, read a book, judge by the cover… I forget. It’s late. My comments are way too fucking long sometimes. 😉
Never liked Madge – she has always come across as a grasping/greedy person who thinks she is entitled to behave like a diva, but she is not a great or even good singer. I won’t buy the book, as from her brother’s quotes she is just as I expected.
It’s inconceivable that two parents could give birth to such pond sludge
I spend more money every month on feral cat colonies. Damn, Madge, you need to get into reality. It would be great if Madonna had a cause in life, starting in her early 20’s. But, alas, she isn’t me and will never be. It’s called a ‘beautiful soul’ and an education. Someone like myself will always laugh at Madonna, being appalled when people always say I look like her. I always said to their comments of, ‘Madonna’, no it’s MaDollar! I love money, me.
it’s good that someone finally stood up against madonna. i’m glad this book came out. madonna is totally lost in her own world.
Yes, it is amazing that a family would have two black sheep instead of one. Maybe the odds increase with the size of the family. But, if everything Christopher says in that book is true (including his claim that she outed him as being gay on national TV without his permission and then dismissed what she did with, well it’s true), she pulled some really selfish stunts on him and thought it was okay because she was older than him and an american icon? Maybe he finally just got tired of all the years of her thinking she runs everyone’s life and everyone has to kiss her ass. Only the two of them probably know what really happened. I would like to hear Madonna address the unflattering claims without just stating, he’s on drugs. It reminds me when a person is trying to explain something and the more powerful person says don’t pay attention to them; they are crazy. But as they say there is the truth and perception. Maybe Madonna really perceives a sibling couldn’t turn on her if they “weren’t” on drugs. She does have a huge ego. Christopher said his father read the book before it was released. I would think if it were untrue he would have asked his son not to. Parents hurt the most when they see their children fight so maybe the dad put his own feelings aside and thought it was what Christopher needed to do to heal. They do say its bad to do business with family members; I think this proves it. And, when Christopher didn’t answer her pleas to return her calls of distress, she pulled Dad in to stop him because she was always “daddy’s girl”. So why didn’t daddy side with her? I bet Silvio curses the day his daughter captured all this icon status. It seems to have caused a lot of dissention in the family although at first I’m sure it was like a lottery hit. I guess too much money “is” the root of all evil. And yes Christopher took the abuse over the years from her but he looked up to that big sister and was so proud of her for her amazing climb to stardom. What sibling in their right mind that had an interest in the arts would pass up an opportunity to see the world and soak up all the knowledge and some glory in that field with a door wide open right next to him. Who would not want to be a part of that. Like CC said it was a gift and a slap. Face it, her drive and determination are way above the average person which probably sometimes crosses the line of decent behavior and good characteristics. Just speculating on hearsay so I guess none of us “really” know their motives or truths. Hope their family works it out.
What he doesn’t tell you is that he has expected Madge to pay his way for everything. That the reason she pays the medical bills for Granny nad only give 500 a month is that HE was ripping Granny off when she was giving her more money. People say she acts like a prima Donna, HOW? If he had not hit on her husband I and got caught he would not have had his easy money taken away from him. She has been supporting the whole family! Why should she have to support her brother who is capeable of working? She had to pay for his tux, his ticket and his lodgings for her wedding. He is a mooch. Her husband shot him down when he hit on him and now he is writing this book to get even.
I hope Madge drops him like a sicko he is and never talks to him again and leaves every penny she has to her kids with a clause that says they will get cut off if they give this liar a penny.
The script Christopher wrote about a female bull figher was my idea. I was in chat rooms on AOL, and I spoke to different people including a lawyer about my idea. There were authors online also. One in particular was someone who wrote Star Trek novels. She even helps writers with their work. I think the book about his sister is probably true. He probably sugar coated some of it, if not all of it. I have a sister like that too. And, I have a sister who is gay. I would not allow anyone to mistreat her because of it. Madonna seems like she never grew up. And, acting the way she does probably puts people off, no wonder she’s lonely. Sean Penn and Guy seem alot a like, they are both assholes. So, I’m thinking why get divorced? She’s an asshole too, so Guy and she are perfect for eachother.
The only thing I wanted to do with my idea about the lady bullfighter. Incidentally the real one’s name is Christina Sanchez. And, she quit bullfighting because of all the discrimination she received from men in Spain. It was that documentary, and thinking of the movie 1492, and men who have died riding bulls here in the US. Those things combined gave me that idea. I think Christopher is a liar where that is concerned. Nobody will care anyway. I just wanted to be there while it was being filmed. I’m not a screen writer. I “chated” with someone who lived in Europe, and who participated in film festivals. I copied the entire conversation. I asked the man how could my idea get through to movie mogles. He said that even if I did write a script that it’s a million to one chance of someone picking it up, so to speak. So, I surft the internet found a website that was connected to Micheal Douglas. He’s produced films. Nobody ever contacted me about it. Anyway, I’m going to take Christopher’s book, and I’m going to take each page, the cover sheet, and EVERYTHING, and I’m going to put it through the shredder. Fuck it.
Cheap with her grandma? Disgraceful.
Nice modeling for your children Madonna and to think Lourdes is the splitting image of you. Remember what goes around comes around.
I heard the cd version and Chris came off to me as sort of a guy with low self-esteem. His anguish toward Madonna couldn’t have been that bad because according to his story he always went back to Madonna’s side when she called him to sorta ‘rescue’ her as her dresser or what not. I kinda felt bad for Chris but he does makes Madonna sound like a role model and a no crap music goddess.