Madonna was rushed to intensive care after her “relentless pursuit for perfection” led to her rehearsing 12 gruelling hours a day for her upcoming world tour, sources claim.
The pop icon, 64, was last night back at home in New York recovering from the severe bacterial infection that led to her being found unresponsive on Saturday and intubated in hospital.
Her family reportedly feared the worst before she was stabilised and did not reveal her ordeal until Wednesday, after she was moved to a private room.
Daughter Lourdes Leon remained by Madonna’s side until she was discharged and after the star left the hospital, a source told CNN “She’s in the clear.”
Another source told the Mirror last night: “It’s been one hell of a scare. For days after she was found, the family didn’t know which way to turn.
“All thoughts ran through their heads, including the gravest of fears.”
Madonna’s Celebration Tour – due to start in Vancouver, Canada, on July 15 and take in 43 cities, including London – has been postponed but a source said she is determined “not to let fans down”.
They said: “She is out of the worst of it now but at the moment only time will tell how long the road to recovery will be. It is going to take time.
“Madonna is determined not to let her fans down as she sees the tour as the one they all want most.
“It has been billed to highlight her unmatched music catalogue from the past 40-plus years, and that is what she intends to deliver. But her relentless pursuit of perfection has come at a cost.”
The Material Girl singer has long been known for her relentless work ethic and energetic performances.
She is said to have been “strenuously rehearsing” at Long Island’s Nassau Coliseum, putting in 12-hour days and rehearsing each song and routine repeatedly for her 84-date tour of North America and Europe.
A second source said Madonna’s schedule was “full-on”, given the large number of dates and the small number of rest days.
They said: “It was one of the reasons why she was trying to get into such good shape ahead of the tour. It’s a relentless schedule and you need to be able to withstand that. Since the pandemic and the backlog of tours, many artists have to cram in as many shows as possible and rest days are few and far between.”
It is not known what kind of bacterial infection Madonna had.
But according to the Cleveland Clinic, they can affect many different parts of the body. It says: “Common bacterial diseases include UTIs, food poisoning, STIs and some skin, sinus and ear infections.” The most common treatment is a course of antibiotics but the clinic adds: “Any bacterial infection that gets deep into your body, like in your blood, heart, lungs or brain, can be life-threatening.”
Madonna was due to play several nights at the O2 Arena in London – four in October and two in December. It is not known whether those dates will be affected.
Her last Instagram post was made on June 20, four days before she collapsed, and featured images of her rehearsing for the tour, accompanied by the caption: “The calm before the storm.”
Announcing on Wednesday that she had been admitted to hospital, her manager Guy Oseary said: “We will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour. We will share more details as soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows.”
Madonna, who found global fame with the hit Holiday in 1983, has refused to compromise on her energetic performances as she has aged.
Three years ago, she had to cancel several of her Madame X concerts after a persistent knee injury was worsened by a heavy fall on stage. She was taken to hospital and later revealed that she was having stem cell treatment to treat the injury. At the time, Madonna described herself as a “broken doll held together with tape and glue”.
She also sparked concern in 2021 with a series of erratic social media posts – one showing her posing with someone holding a knife to her neck.
And at the Grammy Awards in February, she faced fierce criticism over her changing appearance, with some speculating she had had plastic surgery. Madonna was quick to slam the critical comments about her appearance and deny plastic surgery claims – but sources said she was deeply affected by the remarks.
And while many have sent their thoughts and prayers to Madonna after her scare this week, some sceptics believe the delay to her tour is a “ploy” to drive up ticket sales.
Yesterday, US comedian Kathy Griffin jumped to the singer’s defence, declaring that she was a “victim of ageism and misogyny”.
Griffin said: “I don’t know what’s going on with Madonna. I don’t know but I love her and want to defend her. I have never met her. I’ve seen her in concert, of course. I think she has provided the world with decades of music and entertainment. But I don’t like how people are already piling on and making fun of her being obviously quite ill or collapsed.
“She’ll be fine – we don’t know anything yet but I’m going to be honest, I think a lot of it is ageism and misogyny. Sorry, but as a 62-year-old chick, I deal with it all the time, and she’s freaking Madonna. So I don’t care about her fillers. I care about her health and I’m glad she can go back on this tour, and the tour is the greatest hits, and she should be great.”
