- During Madonna's tour stop in Sacramento on Saturday, a picture of Vandross was shown alongside Queen singer Freddie Mercury
- After word got out about the picture, the late singer's estate contacted Madonna, who quietly had the picture removed
- Vandross' estate made it clear that the singer, who died in 2005 at the age of 54 following a stroke in 2003, was never diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV virus
Madonna had paid tribute to artists who died of AIDS during her Celebrations tour, but a recent performance included a surprise appearance by Luther Vandross.
During Madonna's tour stop in Sacramento on Saturday, a picture of Vandross was shown alongside Queen singer Freddie Mercury.
After word got out about the picture, the estate of the late singer, who died in 2005 at the age of 54 as a result of a stroke in 2003, contacted Madonna, who quietly had the picture removed.
Vandross' estate clarified in a statement that the singer was never diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV virus.
“Luther Vandross died in 2005 as a result of a stroke he suffered two years earlier,” the estate said in a statement to Page Six.
Madonna had paid tribute to artists who died of AIDS during her Celebrations tour, but a recent performance included a surprise appearance by Luther Vandross
Vandross' estate clarified in a statement that the singer was never diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV virus
“While we appreciate Madonna's recognition of the lives lost to AIDS, Luther was NEVER diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV virus,” the statement continued.
“We are not sure where she or her production team obtained false medical information claiming otherwise,” the statement continued.
“We are currently in contact with their management to remove Luther Vandross from the tribute,” the statement said. The report added that Madonna actually removed the image from the tribute.
News that Vandross' image was added to the tribute came from an Instagram user named Kevin James Smith, who has accompanied Madonna on tour.
He had shown a photo of his friend Tommy, who had also died of AIDS, during the Seattle show, and he managed to include the photo in the tribute for Saturday's show in Sacramento.
He posted a video of the tribute, which featured Vandross alongside Queen's Freddie Mercury.
This post caught the eye of Encyclopedia Madonnica author Matthew Rettenmund, who posted the image on his Instagram.
“An interesting development at Madonna’s Celebration Tour show in Sacramento on Saturday night. “Kevin (skymax.music.travel.style) was able to add his late friend Tommy to the Live to Tell AIDS memorial wall, which is so wonderful,” he began.
This post caught the eye of Encyclopedia Madonnica author Matthew Rettenmund, who posted the image on his Instagram
“While we appreciate Madonna's recognition of the lives lost to AIDS, Luther was NEVER diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV virus,” the statement continued
“We are currently in contact with their management to remove Luther Vandross from the tribute,” the statement said. The report added that Madonna actually removed the image from the tribute
Vandross never publicly came out as gay, although friends including Bruce Villanch and Patti LaBelle confirmed he was gay after his death in 2005.
“But eagle-eyed observers also noticed the sudden addition of Luther Vandross.” “Although Vandross is gay (and kept it a secret until the end) and was rumored to have lost weight due to AIDS, his death in 2005 was never confirmed attributed to AIDS complications,” Rettenmund added.
“I'm not sure why it was added late, but it's an interesting choice.” I know that many closeted men have tried to hide their diagnoses even in death (Robert Reed tried, but his death certificate said AIDS; Liberace – who is not on the Live to Tell board – claimed he lost weight in one day on the watermelon diet,” he added.
Vandross never publicly came out as gay, although friends including Bruce Villanch and Patti LaBelle confirmed he was gay after his death in 2005.
The singer also filed a libel lawsuit against a British magazine after it claimed his 85-pound weight loss was due to AIDS.