Madonna confronted her mortality head-on during a reflective moment at her first Celebration Tour show Monday night in Los Angeles.
The 65-year-old music icon paused her performance at the Kia Forum to look back on her shocking health scare in June 2023, when she was rushed to hospital after being found unresponsive due to what was later discovered to be a severe bacterial infection.
The singer was taken to the intensive care unit and had to be intubated. She later revealed that she had been placed in an induced coma as she fought for her life despite lung and kidney failure.
Despite her “near-death” experience, Madonna remained defiant.
“This show every night isn't really that physically demanding for me.” “It's emotionally hard for me because I'm really telling you the story of my life,” she told the audience, according to Just Jared. “My heart is on my sleeve. “I’ve fallen off a lot of horses and broken a lot of bones… but nothing can stop me.”
Madonna, 65, said at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Monday: “Nothing can stop me” as she recalled her “near-death” health scare when she was rushed to intensive care and intubated in June 2023, after she suffered a fatal bacterial infection; pictured in London in October
Madonna played the first LA stop of her Celebration Tour. She said the first word she said after waking from the induced coma was “No!”
Madonna went on to reveal the first word she allegedly said after waking up from her four-day coma: “No!”
“I'm pretty sure God said to me, 'Do you want to come? Do you want to come up with me?” To which she replied, “No!”
The “Into The Groove” singer revealed that one of the doctors who cared for her during her health crisis was in the audience that night, and she recalled how he guided her through her difficult recovery period after she was discharged from the hospital .
“I called every other day and asked [my doctor] Why did I have no energy, when would my energy come back? When would I feel like myself again? When can I go on tour again?' she remembered.
“He would just say, 'Go out in the sun'… It was so hard for me to go from my house to the backyard and sit in the sun.” “I know that sounds crazy, but it was difficult” , she admitted. “It's strange to finally not feel like I'm in control, and that was my lesson…to let go.”
The singer (born Madonna Ciccone) credited her six children with helping her get back on her feet and perform in front of enthusiastic audiences again.
“My kids really helped me get through because they worked so hard,” she said. “I didn’t want to disappoint her, so I just set a date. And that date became a reality.'
At a previous tour date in Brooklyn in December, the dance music pioneer joked that she “almost had to die trying to fit all my kids in one room.”
She shares 27-year-old daughter Lourdes with her former boyfriend and fitness trainer Carlos Leon and her 23-year-old son Rocco with her ex-husband, filmmaker Guy Ritchie.
Madonna later adopted her son David Banda, 18; daughter Chifundo “Mercy” James, 18; and twin daughters Stella and Estere, 11.
“I'm pretty sure God said to me, 'Do you want to come? Do you want to come up with me?”” To which she replied, “No!”; pictured on Monday in LA with comedian Eric André (l.)
She revealed that a doctor who treated her was present at the show on Monday. She said she would call him and ask when she would finally have more energy as she recovered, but he told her to just “go outside in the sun”; Seen in LA on Monday
She thanked her children for helping speed her recovery. pictured in London in October
Later on Tuesday, Madonna shared some stage photos from her Monday night show on Instagram
“Last night was…unforgettable,” she wrote, revealing that comedian Eric André joined her on stage where she wowed the audience
“Thank you,” she wrote while tagging the comedian and actor. She appeared with curly blonde pin-up hair, a black bustier and fishnet stockings with pointed silver heels as she sat next to him, apparently judging some sort of scorecard competition
The concert proved to be a family affair as Madonna was accompanied by her daughter Estere (left) and son David (right).
According to Radar Online, she went into acute septic shock on June 24, and emergency responders were reportedly able to revive her with Narcan.
The substance is traditionally used to treat people suffering from an opioid overdose, but can also help revive people suffering from septic shock.
At her show in Brooklyn, Madonna said her “lungs weren't working” and her “kidneys were failing,” and she claimed there was a 40 percent chance she wouldn't survive.
However, she was already on the road to recovery just days after being admitted to the hospital, and the pop icon now appears to be doing as well as ever.