Madonna’s older brother named Anthony Ciccone died at the age of 66.
The announcement was made on Instagram via musician Joe Henry, who is married to Madonna’s sister Melanie Ciccone.
“My brother-in-law, Anthony Gerard Ciccone, exited this earthly plane last evening. I’ve known him since I was 15, in the spring of our lives in Michigan so many years now gone,” Henry wrote on Saturday. “As brother Dave Henry (who took this photograph) notes here, Anthony was a complex character; and god knows: we tangled in moments, as true brothers can.”
He continued, “But I loved him, and understood him better than I was sometimes willing to let on. But trouble fades; and family remains— with hands reached across the table. Farewell, then, brother Anthony. I want to think the god your blessed mother (and mine) believed in has her there, waiting to receive you. At least for today, no one shall dissuade me from this vision.”
Madonna is yet to comment on the tragic news.
Madonna, who is one of eight children, grew up in Michigan, where her older brother was believed to have been residing when he died. Their mother, Madonna Ciccone, died following a battle with breast cancer at age 33 in 1963.
Anthony previously opened up about his family including Madonna. “I’m a zero in their eyes – a non-person. I’m an embarrassment. If I froze to death, my family probably wouldn’t know or care about it for six months,” he said in 2011, PageSix reported.
“My father would be very happy if I died of hypothermia, then he wouldn’t have to worry about it any more. He’s old school, he grew up in the depression,” he added. “I never loved her in the first place, she never loved me. We never loved each other.”
For more updates, keep watching this space.