Madonna’s family take back estranged brother after years living on the streets
Madonna (Getty)
Madonna’s brother Anthony Ciccone has returned to the family home after seven years living on the streets.
The 61-year-old has been battling alcoholism for many years.
For several years he has been sleeping rough in Michigan, with bitter temperatures low enough to potentially kill him.
Sister Madonna has repeatedly offered him help in recent years, but he turned down the offers.
“I’m a zero in their eyes – a non-person. I’m an embarrassment,” he said in a 2011 interview.
“If I froze to death, my family probably wouldn’t know or care about it for six months.”
“My father would be very happy if I died of hypothermia,” he added. “Then he wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. He’s old school, he grew up in the depression.”
Anthony had previously worked on the family vineyard, but was fired him after he was caught drinking wine directly from the vats.
Despite firing him, the family continued to offer help.
Now he has finally taken them up on the offer, accepting an offer to go into rehab.
He is recovering at Dann’s House, Michigan, a rehab centre for alcoholics.
Christopher Ciccone, Madonna’s younger brother, confirmed that Anthony is now with his family, and without giving details said he was “back home and recovering”.
Karen McCarthy, the founder of the facility, confirmed Anthony’s stay, telling the Sunday People: “Anthony loved it at Dann’s House for quite a while, and made significant improvements in his life while he was with us.
“Dann’s House does good work with people who are vulnerable. We’ve seen tremendous, positive results.”
Madonna’s other brother, Christopher, is said to have made up with the singer recently too.
Christopher worked with his sister until the pair fell out more than decade ago.
He labelled his celebrity sister “horrifying” in a new interview earlier this year.
The interior designer, 56, was Madonna’s backstage dresser and show designer before the fallout.
He published a book, Life with My Sister Madonna, a decade ago.
Madonna was furious that the book criticised her, while he says it was just an attempt to gain some credit for 20 years of commitment.
“When I got back to LA my 500 acquaintances suddenly turned out to be four friends,” he told The Sun.
“She’s quite powerful in Los Angeles, in the industry.
“I was working in the industry doing music videos and tours and it was difficult to get work, if not impossible.”
Defending his memoir’s publication, Ciccone continued: “I could have written that book, the book about how horrifying she is or can be, but I didn’t write that book.
“I was just looking for a little recognition for the work I’ve done for 20 years with her, that it wasn’t one person.”
He claims that Madonna’s performances have not been of the same standard since he was kicked from the fold.
According to The Sun, the siblings have patched up their relationship in recent months.
The two now speak from time to time, and are partly over the revealing book.
“We’ve gotten past that, we talk,” he said, adding: “I just talked to her a couple of weeks ago when I was at my father’s vineyard.”
“We email each other. Well, it’s passed for me, but I do know Madonna likes to hold grudges.
“There’s nothing I can do about that.”
