Madonna fan in wheelchair called out by star for sitting down speaks out

A fan called out by Madonna for sitting down during a concert despite being in a wheelchair has spoken out for the first time.

A circulated video online showed Madonna single out a concertgoer who wasn’t standing at one of her gigs earlier this month. “What are you doing sitting down over there, what are you doing sitting down?” the Queen of Pop asked, before walking towards the end of the stage for a closer look. 

Realising her mistake, the “Like a Prayer” hit-maker said sheepishly: “Oh, OK… politically incorrect, sorry about that. I’m glad you’re here.”

Now, the fan, Vanessa Gorman, has told TMZ she wasn’t offended by the awkward incident.

Gorman said she was shocked by Madonna’s request at first because she thought her pink wheelchair would be clearly visible. However, in the moment she couldn’t believe Madonna was speaking to her and was more star-struck than anything else – and responded by saying: “I love you.” 

Gorman, who was paralysed in a car accident in 1999, said: “Some people are in wheelchairs and can stand. She had no idea I was paralysed.”

Madonna was hospitalised with a “serious bacterial infection” in June 2023 after being found unresponsive in her New York City apartment. 

The tour has been hailed as “a stunning salute to the Queen of Pop’s LGBTQ+ family” for highlighting the AIDS epidemic during the 80s and 90s through her tracks ‘Holiday’ and ‘Live To Tell’. 

The latter song shows the faces of hundreds of people whose lives were claimed by the disease, including her friends Keith Haring and Martin Burgoyne, her dance teacher Christopher Flynn, and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Madonna is set to close her critically acclaimed Celebration Tour with a free show on Copacabana Beach, Brazil, on 4 May.

• Nov 29 2023

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