“I
DON’T
THINK
SHE’S
HAPPY
about
it.”
This
is
the
official
statement
of
Christopher
Ciccone,
in
reference
to
his
sister,
the
pop
singer
known
worldwide
as
Madonna.
Ciccone
has
written
a
“tell-all”
book,
titled
“Life
With
My
Sister
Madonna.
It
hit
No.
7
on
the
New
York
Times
best-seller
list.
When
it
hit
the
newsstands,
“Life”
was
promoted
as
a
scandal-soaked,
tell-all
muckfest,
luring
readers
with
promises
of
secret
details
about
one
of
the
most
famous
people
in
the
world.
But
now
that
it
has
been
released,
readers
are
discovering
a
different
book
entirely.
This
is
not
a
tale
about
a
pop-star’s
secret
life;
it’s
the
story
of
Ciccone
himself,
what
it’s
like
living
in
the
shadow
of
a
pop
star
and
how
you
break
away.
This
is
not
the
story
Ciccone
could
have
told;
he
says
it’s
the
story
he
wanted
to
tell.
“It’s
not
a
bloodbath,”
he
says.
“I
think
there
are
a
number
of
people
who
are
disappointed
that
it’s
not.
When
the
book
came
out,
I
was
getting
some
very
negative
e-mail,
that
I
was
betraying
her
and
I
was
about
to
tear
her
apart.
But
all
the
people
who
said
they
didn’t
want
that
to
happen
were
the
same
people
who
wanted
to
read
it.
They
wanted
it
to
be
that.”
Hordes
of
people
have
purchased
the
book,
but
Ciccone
isn’t
sure
if
his
sister
is
one
of
them.
They
haven’t
spoken
in
years
and
with
the
publication
of
“Life,”
there
probably
isn’t
a
reunion
coming
anytime
soon.
“We
haven’t
spoken
about
it
directly,”
he
says.
“She’s
written
a
number
of
e-mails
to
my
father.
But
I
don’t
know
whether
she’s
read
it
or
not,
or
what
her
particular
reaction
is
to
it.”
Many
lurid
details
did
make
it
into
the
book,
of
course.
Among
them
are
claims
that
Madonna
repeatedly
agreed
to
business
arrangements
with
him
and
then
reneged,
often
leaving
his
bank
account
empty.
She
exploited
the
plights
of
her
family
members
to
her
own
benefit,
going
so
far
as
to
out
Ciccone
in
an
interview
with
the
Advocate,
just
so
she
could
win
the
favor
of
more
gay
fans,
he
claims.
She
had
sex
to
advance
her
career,
she
terrorized
the
people
who
worked
for
her,
she
staged
visits
to
her
mother’s
grave
just
to
be
filmed
for
her
“Truth
or
Dare”
documentary
film.
But
more
than
anything,
she
seemed
to
use
Ciccone
as
her
doormat
—
and
time
and
again,
he
picked
himself
up
and
went
back
for
more.
“I
can
see
how
people
would
look
at
that
as
a
strange
thing,”
says
Ciccone,
in
reference
to
his
acceptance
of
the
abuse.
“Look,
the
death
by
a
thousand
cuts
—
they
add
up.
But
keep
in
mind,
that
was
my
life.
She
was
my
only
family
and
employer
at
the
time.
It
might
seem
sadomasochistic
on
some
level,
but
she
was
my
family.”
Ciccone
also
takes
direct
aim
at
two
of
the
people
closest
to
his
sister:
her
husband,
perennially
unemployed
movie
director
Guy
Ritchie,
and
her
close
friend
and
confidant,
Miami
nightclub
impresario
Ingrid
Casares.
Ciccone
gives
the
most
vicious
treatment
of
the
book
to
Casares,
portraying
her
as
a
spineless
idiot
who
lives
only
for
Madonna’s
approval.
Madonna
met
Casares
in
the
late
1990s
when
the
pop
star
lived
in
Coconut
Grove,
and
the
two
became
close
friends.
Casares’s
presence
in
the
book
illustrates
how
Madonna
likes
to
be
surrounded
by
people
who
can’t
think
for
themselves.
It’s
an
extremely
unflattering
portrayal
and
Ciccone
is
aware
that
Casares
is
upset
about
it.
But
rather
than
confronting
him
about
the
book,
Ciccone
says
Casares
swiped
a
mutual
friend’s
iPhone,
and
sent
him
a
vitriolic
message
through
the
friend’s
profile.
“I
thought
it
was
him,
because
she
used
his
phone,”
he
says.
“And
she
said,
‘I
hope
you’re
happy,
whoring
out
your
sister
and
betraying
one
of
your
very
good
friends’
in
capital
letters,
meaning
her.”
Christopher
Ciccone
says
his
working
relationship
with
his
sister,
Madonna,
is
long
over
but
he
hopes
to
someday
reestablish
contact
with
her.
The
scene
at
their
mother's
grave
in
'Truth
or
Dare'
and
homophobic
wedding
reception
remarks
from
brother-in-law
Guy
Ritchie
are
among
his
many
grievances.
(Photo
courtesy
of
Big
Machine
Media
via
Express
Gay
News). |
|
Several
days
later,
the
friend
saw
the
message
that
Casares
sent,
and
called
Ciccone
to
say
he
didn’t
send
it.
“I
think
she
assumed
I
wouldn’t
speak
to
her,
but
of
course
I
would
speak
to
Ingrid,”
he
says.
“It’s
just
a
childish
behavior.
It’s
perfect
Ingrid
style,
you
know
—
hide
behind
someone
else
and
express
her
anger.”
As
for
Madonna’s
husband,
there
is
a
strong
mutual
dislike.
Ciccone
blames
Ritchie
for
his
falling
out
with
Madonna,
claiming
the
new
man
in
her
life
drove
the
final
wedge
between
them.
“He
didn’t
like
our
relationship,
and
for
him
to
get
in
there,
I
had
to
go,”
he
says.
“On
top
of
that,
I
was
gay,
and
that
made
him
very
uncomfortable.
“She’d
had
many
other
boyfriends,
and
a
husband,
...
