Originally appeared on E! Online
Madonna paid tribute to her brother Christopher Ciccone following news of his death, revealing that prior to his passing, the two had reconnected following a long estrangement.
Ciccone, who was close with the pop queen before releasing a tell-all book about their relationship more than 15 years ago, died Oct. 4 after a cancer battle.
"My brother Christopher is gone," Madonna wrote on her Instagram Oct. 6, alongside several photos of the two. "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."
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The 66-year-old continued, "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."
Madonna said that discovering dance saved both her and Ciccone and that her ballet teacher "created a safe space for my brother to be Gay, a word that was not spoken or even whispered where we lived."
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Ciccone had passed away "peacefully" with husband Ray Thacker by his side, his rep had said in a statement to multiple outlets Oct. 6.
Madonna, who was raised with her seven siblings in Michigan, wrote that when she moved to New York in the late '70s to become a dancer, Ciccone followed.
"And again we took each other's hands, and we danced through the madness of New York City!" she said. "We devoured Art and Music And Film like hungry animals. We were in the epicenter 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."
In the earlier years of the Grammy winner's music career, Ciccone worked as her backup dancer, assistant, dresser, decorator and creative director on her tours.
"When it came to good taste, my brother was the Pope, and you had to kiss the ring to get his blessing. We defied the Roman Catholic Church, The Police, the Moral Majority and all Authority figures that got in the way of Artistic freedom!" said Madonna, whose 1989 "Like a Prayer" video was condemned by the Vatican for its religious imagery. "My brother was right by my side."
In more recent years, Ciccone had worked as an artist, footwear designer and interior specialist.
"He was a painter a poet and a visionary," Madonna wrote. "I admired him. He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, Which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him. We soared the highest heights together. And floundered in the lowest lows. Somehow, we always found each other again and We held hands and we kept dancing."
In 2008, the relationship between the siblings soured amid the release of his tell-all autobiography, "Life With My Sister Madonna."
"The last few years have not been easy," the "Material Girl" singer wrote. "We did not speak for sometime but when my brother got sick, we found our way back to each other. 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."
Madonna continued, "I'm glad he’s not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere."
