Pop superstar Madonna broke down in tears earlier this week as she took her Celebration world tour to Amsterdam.
The 65-year-old was clearly overcome with emotion as paid an emotional tribute to her mum on the 60th anniversary of her death, aged 30. The date also coincided with World AIDS Day – an event Madge deeply cares about.
Footage taken at the Dutch capital’s Zippo Dome showed Madonna welling up on stage as her thoughts turned to the millions that have fallen victim to the disease. Addressing the crowd, she declared: “Today is World AIDS Day. Do you know that? Is that important to everybody?”
READ MORE:Madonna, 65, wows fans as she flaunts figure in sizzling fishnets and tiny skirt
READ MORE:Madonna fans gobsmacked as star, 65, writhes on table in skintight bodysuit
The Vogue singer continued: “When I first came to New York, I was lucky enough to eventually meet and become friends with so many amazing artists… and then one day, people started getting sick, and nobody could understand what was happening.”
Recalling the early days of the HIV virus, Madonna added: “People were just starting to lose weight. People were dropping like flies. They were going to the hospital and nobody understood what was happening. I don’t know if you understand this right now, but in the early ’80s, it was not cool to be gay. It was not accepted. Did you know that?
“Can you imagine what it was like in that time when being gay was considered sinful and disgusting? When suddenly the vast majority of the gay community started dropping like flies and people were dying everywhere? When I say that they were dying everywhere, I’m not exaggerating.”
Madonna went on to reveal her anguish at waking up “every day” to learn of someone dying or “sitting by” as a loved one passed away from AIDS. “Nobody in the medical community wanted to do anything about it because they said, ‘Well f*** it, they’re f*****s. They deserve to die,'” she angrily declared. “It was a pretty devastating, scary time.”
In further footage shared by a fan on X (formerly Twitter), the singer explained that she had lost “so many friends” and loved ones over the years to the illness. “I would have cut off my arms if I could’ve found a cure for them to live,” she said.
Join the Daily Star Soaps WhatsApp for all the latest spoilers and exclusives
“I watched so many people die, male and female, children, straight, gay, etc. In any case, it was a devastating time for me,” she said, adding that her best friend Martin Burgoyne was one of those to lose their lives.
“I was holding his hand,” Madonna revealed. “He was suffering so much he could barely breathe. I’m not saying this because I want you to feel sorry for me. I want you to recognise how lucky you are right now to be alive.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
