Madonna Says She Is 'Surrounded By So Much Discrimination and Death'

Madonna is explaining why she is "celebrating" amid the negativity and trauma she has experienced in her life.

The 65-year-old superstar says that her Celebration Tour is a response to the hardships she has faced throughout her storied life and career. During an acoustic moment in the show, the "Like A Prayer" icon told the story of one of her close friends, Martin, who died during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

"Everybody was trying everything to stay alive, including my friend Martin, and it just made him sicker, unfortunately. But he would have done anything ... if it made him believe that it would make AIDS go away," she detailed.

While the tour is a triumphant victory lap of the music legend's career, it also honors those she has lost along the way. It features extensive tributes to her friends that she lost during the AIDS crisis, as well as salutes to her mother and the late Michael Jackson.

"I am telling you this because it is an important part of my journey. Death. My mother's death. The death of all my friends. There's so much death around me and yet I am here celebrating. Why am I celebrating? Because when you are surrounded by so much negativity and discrimination and death as manifestation of this kind of ignorant hatred, all you have left to do is celebrate."

Towards the beginning of the over-two-hour concert, Madonna performs "Live to Tell" to honor those who have died from the illness. She has used the song to memorialize AIDS victims in the past, also singing it on her Confessions Tour in 2006.

The "Vogue" songstress also looks back on her relationship with her mother while singing "Mother and Father" off her 2003 LP American Life.

During a tribute to Michael Jackson, two holographic silhouettes representing her iconic 70s bride outfit and the "Thriller" singer's signature fedora and white glove look. The two avatars dance to a mashup of "Like A Virgin" and "Billie Jean" before the concert's finale.

At her Miami concert in March, Madonna remembered those who were shot at the city's Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2015. Calling it "the biggest terrorist attack in America after 9/11," she went on to remember the 49 people that were killed and 53 who were wounded, before delivering an emotional rendition of "Express Yourself" on the guitar.

"I want to remind you that we have not all been so lucky... I want to draw attention to that moment because nightclubs and music and dance are what bring us together."

After postponing the concert trek last year following a near-death experience with a bacterial infection, Madonna is currently wrapping up in Mexico, concluding with 81 shows. She is in the midst of a five concert residency in Mexico before traveling to Brazil, where she will perform the biggest concert of her career.

The Rio de Janeiro concert on Copacabana Beach will be free of admission, also being broadcast on select television stations. With an anticipated audience of millions, the concert date is slated to be a historic feat for the "Ray of Light" Grammy-winner. As a thank you to her fans, the concert will be her first in Brazil since 2012.

Tags

Madonna, Concert, Michael Jackson