Something is seriously wrong with Madonna, y’all.
After canceling multiple shows during the U.S. leg of her Madame X World Tour, the singer has moved on to Europe. On Sunday night, she was set to hit the stage in Lisbon, Portugal at around 8:30 p.m. But at 7:45 p.m., it was announced she would not be coming out, marking the eighth show on the tour that has been scrapped.
Fans received an email roughly 45 minutes before showtime informing them that Madonna would not be performing. Many had already begun arriving at the theater. Later, she took to Instagram to apologize.
“Sorry I had to cancel tonight but I must listen to my body and rest!!” she said, without offering any further explanation for the cancelation.
Earlier today, she posted a video to Instagram showing herself walking up a flight of stairs using a cane.
“Thank goodness for my beautiful Vintage cane,” she wrote.
Despite receiving critical acclaim, the Madame X World Tour seems to have been cursed from the get-go.
In addition to opening night being postponed due to “production delays,” and multiple shows being scrapped in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and Miami, Madonna was purportedly met with loud boos from audiences in Vegas and had to issue 500 refunds after arriving on stage two hours late.
On top of all that, she’s currently being sued by a fan for pushing the start time for her December 17 show in Miami from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m., impacting the resale value of his tickets.
Throughout the tour, Madonna has complained of “overwhelming” and “indescribable” pain and said she fears “irreversible damage” if she doesn’t take proper care of herself.
That’s totally understandable, of course. But not all fans in Lisbon were feeling sympathetic.
“Bitch,” one person said while giving the middle finger in a video that garnered more than 1,400 views. “ She canceled. If she is not capable of handling this tour life, it is time to STOP and ADAPT.”
Madonna is scheduled to return to the Lisbon Coliseum tonight for the three remaining days of her residency there. Of course, it remains to be seen if she’ll actually perform. Here’s hoping if she does have to cancel she at least lets her fans know before they’ve begun packing into the theater.
Related: A Madonna fan is suing her for starting her concerts late
Imjustsaying
She’s 62 years old. Not ancient, but when your warranty expires. Everyone I know who hits sixty has aches and pains and arthritis can take hold. No one is immune from getting old.
Matthew Rettenmund
61. But it’s not her age in general, it’s specifically this injury. The issue is it happened during rehearsals and she’s been trying to get through dozens upon dozens of shows. She has over 30 more shows to do. She’s tried, the show itself is fantastic, but she’s going to have to bow out of some, and fans just have to accept that. Once she’s done, she’ll have to have surgery or do some long period of rehab.
jerkinns
Matthew, I’m pretty sure she has a medical team to advise what’s best. And cancelling in less than an hour? I’d say she’s just feeling like a supreme diva.
michael_totzke
Just keep telling yourself that, Matthew. I’m no ageist (I’m 63 & feel physically great), but c’mon: a 61-year-old wearing grills, shoving her v in our faces & – as always – dating one her dancers – obv has some trouble facing up to reality. And you know what? If & when she DOES, she can be incredibly interesting again. MY 2 CENTS, for what it’s worth.
Rock-N-RollHS
@ michael_totzke Good for you. But you probably didn’t put your body through years of athletic strain, as Mo has on stage. A friend of mine, a former professional athlete, is only 55 but body plagued by arthritis of the spine, knees, and hips, and some days he can hardly walk.
Joshooeerr
I’m sixty and I’ve never been fitter. And increasing numbers of people are sprightly into their 70s and 80s thanks to good nutrition and decent medical care (shout out to demented Americans who think national health = socialism!). Madonna’s physical problems are most likely related to her decades of dancing, which is notoriously hard on the body. Most professional dancers reach their use-by dates around thirty, and can look forward to knee and hip replacements, back pain and arthritis. Most sports are similarly punishing. Don’t subject your body to extreme physical activities and you too can be a pain-free, energetic septuagenarian!
Gilliflower
Anyone very active and doing high impact work will feel it sooner rather than later. The only real injury i’ve had is a broken wrist in my 30s and it affects me already. It’s just hard to judge.
batesmotel
It’s not aches and pains. It’s a physical energy from the high octane dancing. It’s also common with other entertainers that are much younger like Lady Gaga and Britney Spears. It’s not an age issue she’s having. Everyone has acted like she’s been 80 years old since she was 30. Strange mentality human beings are.
JPDonahue
I get it Matthew R, her number 1 apologist… but if it’s a serious problem, she needs to put the tour on hold and deal with it. And you should be saying so… if you truly care.
If she’s going to hobble through… maybe, maybe not performing, it’s not healthy for her and it’s the wrong way to treat her public.
SoloMcDaniel
I did not attend any of the Madame X shows but friends did see her in Chicago and left halfway through. They were all huge Madonna fans but felt she belittled & insulted the audience and ranted about how “enlightened” she was and everyone else was beneath her. I would say she should just scrap this whole tour. Not a lot of people would mind.
Hdtex
Cher would never do this…..Pfffft.
brooklynbobby
I just saw her show and you’re right she never would!
ShiningSex
TRUE, BUT CHER NEEDS TO STOP WITH THE “FINAL” TOUR THAT HAS LASTED FOR OVER 20 YEARS. SHE’S MILKING IT TOO.
batesmotel
Cher was never a dancer though. She just kind of stands there and sways a bit while all of the lights and flash around her is going off.
gran77
….mon Dieu! Give the Star a break. Isn’t she, like, a hundred years old??
clhs
I need to know who that is in your avatar!
jerkinns
I just couldn’t understand what people saw in her in the first place. She can’t sing, and her performances are held together wholly by backup dancers and stage effects! Fans will be fans I guess!
greybat
I’m afraid that’s just what Pop Music is… a great deal of effect and very little substance.
Rock-N-RollHS
Guess you had to be there. A great time was had by all.
jerkinns
Rock, I’m sure they have! I’m not contesting that. As I said, all held together by backup dancers and stage effects.
Kangol2
@jerkinns, really? For several generations she provided a pop and dance music soundtrack, and really hit her stride in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She really was an icon, and is still beloved by millions. Even though she appropriated voguing (if not ball culture), she helped to spread it all over the world! At 61 and her shows are famous for their elaborate sets and her equally elaborate performances, but her body probably is saying slow down!
Bob LaBlah
She’s not the only one who owes pyrotechnics and dancing for being the only reason why people go to see her. Beyonce can’t sing either and its still questionable if she is telling the truth about her age. Madonna’s problem is she knows deep down she is burnt out on touring but is too greedy to admit it. She hurts for nothing but a life after the stage. She hasn’t had a hit in over twenty five years (as in number one or even made it to the top three) and her music is on 24/7 across the world. Who wants to pay to see a show mired in yesteryears memories?
batesmotel
That’s every pop artist today! You take away their flash and there isn’t anything there. It’s not like a Joni Mitchell.
nitejonboy
Amen, I stopped listening to her in 97′ and I don’t think she’s had a decent song since then.I used to adore her as a kid, but now I see it was mostly smoke and mirrors and flash. She really doesn’t have that strong of a voice, and now that she can’t dance she may as well hang it up and just produce other people’s albums.You can take away my gay card all you want, but I don’t do the diva thing, I prefer good music.
RickHeathen
“Victoria had the good sense to invite me out one evening.”
…really? That just sounds bad.
brooklynbobby
Mick Jagger is 76 years old and when he learned he needed to have open heart surgery they simply postponed the Stones tour a by a few months. So instead of seeing them in early June I saw them in early August. Before she started her tour Madonna had to know she was having issues. It’s no way to treat fans who have spent big money to see you.
nitejonboy
Yeah, but Jagger, though he has ” the moves “, can also get by with just standing there and singing, because he CAN sing. Madonna would never have much of a tour if she just stood there and sang because for the most part it’s not her voice people come to hear.
peterangel
I love Madonna. Have been a fan since her first Album in the early 80’s.
I think Madonna should have planned a regular Concert tour, than a Musical tour. Performing every night at the same city and venue is too much for her. It doesn’t have anything to do with her age. There’s just certain dance moves she can’t perform any longer. HaHa!! She needs to stretch her body after her performance and rest up. It’s just too much with her dancing every night.
I just hope she will be able to tour Texas. lol! Just my input on this. Madonna!!! Love ?? You!!
decampbell
The old girl is like 80 and banging a 20 year old. Something’s BOUND to break.
Plus I have little sympathy for her as a performer after her outrageous concert delays.
scotshot
She’s doing that part right. Remember: 20 goes into 80 a lot more than 80 into 20.
Den
I have never understood the appeal of Madonna as a vocalist. She clearly knows how to write and produce hit songs, and has a clear vision of the shows she wants to put on. She also plays several instruments, and has an exemplary list of idols and influences. And could have had a career as a dancer, given her talent in that field (she trained with Martha Graham and Alvin Ailey who would not have bothered with her if she were not very good before switching to music) But that voice is like a 10 year old boy with a clothespin on his nose.
I remember cringing when i first heard “Borderline” in 1983, and cringing again with every hit thereafter, hating myself for succumbing to the well constructed hooks. Hated her voice throughout her career, and hated that I couldn’t help humming along.
It sucks that she has physical issues now. But her career has depended on more and more physically taxing shows, and without a competent singing voice she has not had the ability to shift into more “adult” material as other singers have (like Gaga who can alternate rock and jazz/standard shows in Vegas preserving her voice and broadening her audience). She should shift her career into production & choreography and give her body a rest.
scotshot
Madonna paid to attend classes at Grahan’s dance school. She ran into Graham one day in the hallway and didn’t exchange a word with her.
Madonna also auditioned at Ailey’s school and was cut during the first round of auditions. She was offered a partial scholarship, she left and applied at Graham’s.
The tales of Madonna’s youth grew from some as humble start to her Norma Desmond like ego.
spacecadet
I don’t think anyone ever claimed she was a great vocalist nor was she ever one of the best dancers out there. What she excelled at was performing, crafting and re-inventing her look to appeal to a mass audience for so long, being a shrewd businesswoman, and creating an excellent body of work with her music. And I wouldn’t say she was generally a horrible vocalist although she’s certainly given her shade of bad vocal performances. Her voice was even noticeably stronger in some eras like around the Evita days when she was getting vocal lessons for playing that part. You mean to tell me that she sounds “like a 10 year old boy with a clothespin on his nose” after hearing her sing “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”?
whitakerk861
and you are?
ShiningSex
THE BITCH IS OLD. END OF STORY.
DRIED UP.
spacecadet
You seem very bitter. I guess that’s what happens when you hate your life. All you have is the “joy” of insulting others to make you feel better about yourself. Good luck with all of that.
CRGonzalez
My first Madonna concert was the Who’s That Girl Tour, I’ve seen just about ever concert since. Loved them all and was at the opening night in NYC of Madame X. It was one of her best. She wasn’t “dried up,” she was actually amazing. She gave a masterful show, replete with politics, spectacle, powerful female energy, queer affirming and embracing a world community. So many images from the show have stayed with me from the one of Madonna beautifully lit on a dark stage singing Frozen, while a video of Lourdes dancing fluidly filled the entire stage, to the 30+ Batukadera’s from Cape Verde swarming the stage and igniting a strong energy to the lights coming up to a plaza in Lisbon and others scenes left me breathless. So glad I got to experience it, so very glad.
whitakerk861
yay you
Gabby
I saw the show and she was amazing – a true showgirl. Everyone gets injured regardless of age. Athletes sit out full seasons when injured and Britney canceled her 2004 tour to have knee surgery when she was much younger. I feel bad for Madonna. She has such a strong work ethic, she must be devastated.
spacecadet
Thank you for the vivid and enthusiastic review. I had the privilege of seeing Madonna in concert for her Drowned World and Re-Invention tours. Both were excellent and memorable experiences with the latter one being my favorite. I’ve seen other tours on TV or DVD like Blond Ambition and Confessions and those looked amazing too.
Wheelerman
I saw her Rebel Heart concert in 2015, and she was almost 2 hours late starting. It seems to be a thing with her. When she did perform; it was terrific. However, Madonna is the only concert performer who I have seen that held up starting on time.
wellhungtoo
It’s called GOUT – And it’s terribly destabilising and unpredictable/ calcium granules in either a knee joint or an ankle- can take weeks to subside – explains the walking stick
mz.sam
There’s simple prescription medication for gout taken daily. But Madge’s problem is faded fame ego and age. She needs to stick with volunteer work at a hospital or charity work for the nation’s homeless.
whitakerk861
It’s not gout. Don’t be an idiot. She’s too old and her body is letting her know.
nitejonboy
Maybe she just has a raging case of the STD from banging another 20 year old dancer, and she’s too proud to get it checked…does syphillis rot the bones the way it rots the brain ? Oh who am I kidding, she’s just old,lol.Hang it up, Madge, you ain’t got it no more!!
lkeels
She’s faking it and everyone here knows it. She’s not sick or injured, she just knows that her “performance” sucks and the show isn’t worth seeing. The more she skips, the less complaints and videos that get out.
whitakerk861
Lower back and knee problems. Not ageism but rather a common part of aging. No one is immune. Do the right thing and cancel the tour. You’re costing your fans a fortune for tickets, hotels, and airfare. I’d be more impressed if you confessed to this chapter in your life instead of trying to impress us with the Maldives and the Living Room. It’s OK. Happens to all people our age.
CNY1983
EXACTLY! You get the bill from all the years of abusing your body by too much exercise. Its just a fact when you turn 60. There is nothing wrong with being a human being, shes still a human being the last time I checked.
Max
she could have still performed by just sitting in a chair with her feet up. she doesn’t have to dance. she’s such a disappointment nowadays.
CNY1983
I asked on FB if perhaps it was her hip as she was a runner, I was also a runner my entire life and had to have my hip replaced last summer. For my question, I received DEATH THREATS until I removed the post! I did, but only meant to say this as Madonna and I are the same age: When you turn 60 you get the receipt for what you have done to your body all the years. There is no getting around it.
What is wrong with having your hip replaced? If you are a runner take my advice and STOP! Not only is it horrible for your body its bad for your face as all the bouncing causes the collagen in your face to break down faster. That’s why runners dont look so great. Its an addiction and I was addicted to it myself. Before anyone threatens me, I knew Madonna in the 80’s and if you dont believe me ask the guy who wrote the book on her. I’M A FAN TOO!
Joe
You can only keep your legs in the air for so long. Sooner or later gravity wins.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Ok she making some poor decisions regarding a tour that she should simply postpone…
A simple search provided this:
1. Madonna was vocal in her support of people with HIV and AIDS in the 1980s.
When the AIDS epidemic reached its height in the 1980s, people who were HIV-positive faced an unbearable social stigma. As a result, many celebrities kept their distance, choosing to ignore the illness that was wiping out the gay community – but not Madonna.
In 1989, she attended a charity dance marathon in Los Angeles to benefit people who were HIV-positive. The same year, she released the album Like a Prayer, which included a now famous leaflet called ‘The Facts about AIDS’.
The leaflet read: “People with AIDS – regardless of their sexual orientation – deserve compassion and support, not violence and bigotry.” At the height of the AIDS epidemic, that statement was both powerful and deeply radical.
2. Madonna dressed as a boy scout to protest homophobia.
Madonna has repeatedly denounced homophobia throughout her career, but perhaps one of her most memorable stunts came in 2013 when she dressed up as a boy scout to protest the organisation’s ban on gay members.
The Queen of Pop turned up to the GLAAD awards in the boy scout costume. In a speech, she said: “I wanted to be a Boy Scout, but they wouldn’t let me join. I think that’s f**ked up. I can build a fire. I know how to pitch a tent. I have a very good sense of direction. I can rescue kittens from trees. I want to do good for the community.
“Most importantly they should change their stupid rules.”
Madonna urged to boycott Eurovision with Papa Don’t Preach parody
Madonna (Win McNamee/Getty)
3. Madonna has spoken out against the bullying of gay teenagers.
In a 2010 interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Madonna spoke out against bullying, and zoned in on the issues facing gay teenagers in particular.
In the powerful interview, she said that she would not have a career without the gay community, and felt a need to address the issue. “We talk a lot about the importance of not judging people who are different. Not judging people who don’t fit into our expected view of what’s cool and what isn’t. Think about it across the board. The concept that we are torturing teenagers because they are gay… it’s unfathomable.”
She asked that people stop gossiping about others, and said it would help to make them happier too.
So how’s about you Bitter trolls attacking her aim your vitriol and attacks upon those who do harm to our community. Not someone who has been an ally and supporter for decades. This disgusting sniping at those who support us is abhorrent noxious pathetic behavior..
Bob LaBlah
Play, beware of Wolves in sheeps clothing. Madonna, like Oprah, is a very smart businesswoman. Madonna knew that three quarters of her audience (those who were buying her albums, cassette tapes, wall posters, magazines whose cover had her pic on it or set their VHS recorders/tuned in to watch whatever tv show she was on including MTV and were willing to pay $100 to see her back in the 1980’s when most people felt lucky to be making $25k per year which amounted to $12.50 per hour) were young and gay/lesbian white/latin kids. She knew it was because of that audience she was able to keep the lights on so she made sure they never left and did whatever it took to keep it that way. They grew up idolizing her and to this day are still the majority of her audience. Madonna’s audience age averages 35-40 something. Todays twenty-five year old hadn’t started school when her decline in record sales began. You don’t see the same parallels with Beyonce, her shows, her audience, her inability to carry a note without a bucket and her views on gays? Oprah knew her audience were upper middle class suburban white women and targeted her shows at them and it paid off big time. Young people do not read books and none of the books on her book club list are aimed at any other audience. Wake up dude and see these people for the opportunist they are.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Bob LaBlah: You are 100% correct in assessing her fan base. But guess what? They would have remained fans even if she wasn’t outspoken in her support of Gays. It took courage and convictions to voice her support. Because am certain there were Lilly white folks in middle America who hummed along with her catchy tunes and we’re aghast to hear her voice support for “those Queers” never to waddle into Walmart again to purchase a Madonna CD again….
Kieran
Trump derangement syndrome Stage 4.
triguykeith
I am 55 and was a competitive triathlete for 17 years. So her physical limitations are real. I can do almost anything i used to but with way less performance, stamina and strength that when I was say 45. Not to mention besides performing, she’s running a multi million dollar production and recording studio, writing songs for herself and others, producing and she’s a mother of 2! Annoying as it is to find out 45 minutes before a show that its cancelled. She’s lived more of a life than most both physically and mentally
ScottOnEarth
She’s a mother of six and raising the four youngest children…and doesn’t run a production and recording studio. Where do you get your (mis)information?
felixthegato
Almost 60 comments so far! Wow, Madonna is definitely CTR gold after all this time! <3
JPDonahue
It’s sad how the comments (expected) devolved almost immediately from being about her health to criticism of her talent.
Facts, not personal opinion, are leading to: She should probably end this tour before she does inseparable damage to her body.
Good for her on wanting to continue. But… is it worth it?
Is it fair… to her… or to her fans?
And… to the fans that claim this is her greatest tour ever!!
Is it? It may be the tour that kills her.
There’s no shame in accepting the limitations of the human body.
I haven’t been a fan for a very long time.
I get no pleasure watching her desperately cling to her glory days… and wasting away doing so.
GeorgeMTL
Man.. it’s a simple solution. If she keeps trying to—lets’ face it—salvage some ticket sales, and then realize she’s not up to it, better to just cancel the tour, take care of herself and reschedule, offering to honour fans tickets at a later date or give refunds. But this “I’ll be there… woops, no I won’t” would irritate me too.
If she really wanted to get better, she’s cancel the tour so for me, it seems the only reason to keep trying is to get some cash from the few dates she makes at the cost of pissing off all the dates she’s cancelled. A little short-sighted, I think.