Kylie Minogue makes powerful speech about cancer battle and being an icon
Kylie Minogue at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2019. (Getty)
Kylie Minogue gave a candid speech at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, where she opened up about her battle with breast cancer and what it means to be an icon.
Fresh from her recent Glastonbury appearance and her acclaimed summer tour, Minogue was named a GQ Icon at a glittering awards ceremony on Tuesday, September 3.
While introducing the award, host Tom Jones mentioned Minogue’s 2005 battle with cancer, prompting her to reflected on how the illness changed her life.
“Just the mention of ill health has reminded me that I’ve become so close with someone from my medical team from all those years ago,” she said.
“They taught me what it is to depend on someone. Being an icon takes determination, relentlessness and the ability to work through the tears and the pain.”
Kylie Minogue performed at the GQ Awards, which took place at Tate Modern. (Getty)
Concluding, the singer thanked “the people who were by [her] side to celebrate things like Glastonbury but also a support in the tough times”.
Kylie Minogue made belated Glastonbury debut this year.
Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005.
She was forced to pull out of a headline appearance at Glastonbury and postponed the Australian and Asian legs of her Showgirl tour.
Fortunately, the pop star made a full recovery and returned to the road the following year for a series of homecoming concerts.
This summer, she finally made her Glastonbury debut, performing in the Sunday afternoon legend slot.
I really thought I missed my opportunity.
Ahead of her appearance she admitted having thought that she’d lost her chance.
“I really thought I missed my opportunity and, as the years went by, I said to myself, ‘Well this just isn’t going to happen’,” she told The Mirror in June.
In August the singer headlined Brighton Pride for the first time.
Playing to a sold-out crowd of 55,000, she toasted “health happiness and love” as she treated LGBT+ fans to a career-spanning set.
A particular highlight came as she performed ‘Especially For You’, her 1988 duet with Jason Donovan.
The ballad was turned into a celebration of marriage equality, with dancers acting out same-sex weddings on stage.
