HER work schedule was gruelling by anyone's standards: 84 concerts in 45 cities during a seven-month world tour. Yet Madonna has always been one to push boundaries and she's been working around the clock to gear up for her 40th anniversary Celebration Tour.
At 64, it could be her last tour and insiders say she wanted to make it a showstopper. She'd been putting herself through punishing 12-hour rehearsals six days a week - but in the end it all became too much.
Two weeks before the tour was supposed to kick off, the pop legend was found unresponsive in her New York apartment. Her longtime manager, Guy Oseary, shared on Instagram that she was rushed to the ICU after developing a serious bacterial infection.
She was intubated and put on a ventilator and discharged after six days.
"Her health is improving, however, she's still under medical care. A full recovery is expected," he said.
Sources say Madonna had been battling a fever for a month, but she declined to seek medical attention, putting her tour ahead of her health.
Her team has now scaled back the Celebration Tour, which was scheduled to kick off on 15 July in Vancouver, Canada.
"She was working overtime, but she clearly burnt herself out and people around her have been politely reminding her that she's not 45 anymore, let alone 25, a source told The Sun. "She needed to pace herself. Pushing herself so hard was extremely risky."
The queen of pop has long been known to be a workaholic, but her friends say she's been pushing herself even harder to keep up with younger stars. "Many of us feel the constant remarks about her age have put pressure on her to compete," the insider says. "So we are relieved that she's been forced to take time out and put her health first.
Esta historia es de la edición 13 July 2023 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición 13 July 2023 de YOU South Africa.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it