Madonna has been hospitalized since Saturday with a bacterial infection

Madonna has been hospitalized for a serious bacterial infection. The first whiff of this news was from Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary, who announced the postponement of Madonna’s Celebration tour. He wrote on Instagram:

“On Saturday, June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which led to a several-day stay in the ICU. Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care. A full recovery is expected. At this time we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour. We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows.”

[From Deadline]

Bacterial infections are no joke, but I wonder if he would have even announced this if not for the tour. “Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care” – meaning, she’s still being hospitalized. Oseary’s statement led to a lot of panicked reporting about just how bad this could be, with Page Six claiming that Madonna was “found unresponsive” on Saturday and that she had to be intubated for “at least one night,” but she is “now alert and recovering.” Page Six also reported that Lourdes was with her mom throughout. The Mail says that Madonna’s family came together in recent days because they genuinely believed that she was going to die.

I hope Madonna recovers fully and I also hope that this is some kind of wakeup call, you know? She needs to prioritize her health and her family. She still has minor children – David and Mercy are 17 years old, and Stella and Estere are only 10 years old.

Photos courtesy of Madonna’s Instagram, Backgrid.

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47 Responses to “Madonna has been hospitalized since Saturday with a bacterial infection”

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  1. ThatsNotOkay says:

    What kind of bacterial infection was this? In her lungs? Skin? Blood? At an open or unhealed wound? I have questions AND concerns. It sounds incredibly serious and life-threatening. What’s with your prep killing people?

    • Chaine says:

      I just assumed it was a UTI. The older you get, the more, they are in the less you notice you have one.

      • maisie says:

        doubtful, she’s not THAT old and she probably is on estrogen. and probably got a pneumococcal vaccine since it’s recommended at her (our) age.
        ICU and intubation suggests that this was something much much more worrisome.

        possibly related to some surgical procedure she had?
        (I’m a doctor BTW)

    • Brassy Rebel says:

      Sounds like she was on the verge of or already in sepsis. That’s very serious. Hoping for a complete recovery.

    • Elaine says:

      I would assume lung, given the intubation.

      • pottymouthpup says:

        sometimes the intubate to protect the airway and/or because the patient is already at risk/showing signs of respiratory distress. Intubating a patient when there’s a concern about muscle fatigue, especially if they’re already using accessory muscles to breathe is to be able to provide them with assist control mechanical ventilator support (basically, it can assist in inhalation or trigger the machine to initiate breathing if the patient is too fatigued to do it themselves). The infection/injury itself doesn’t have to be in the lungs for this support to be used.

    • Marian says:

      It sounds like sepis. It starts from an infection and spreads through your whole system. It can come on really quickly and you might not notice symptoms until you’re critically ill.

      I suspect either issues with her replacement hip or complications from another cosmetic procedure she had recently.

      I hope she recovers; I’d hate to see her go out like Prince and MJ.

      • nb says:

        That’s what happened to my Mom after a routine hernia surgery about 5 years ago when she was around Madonna’s age. She got sepsis from a small cut in her throat accidentally made by the doctor during the surgery – they didn’t notice and sent her home. She was fine for a few days, went to bed, and woke up around 2-3 AM basically dying with her organs shutting down. She was minutes from not being here anymore but luckily the ambulance got there just in time. She was in an induced coma on life support for a week, in the ICU for a month, and had to undergo months of at home care and then physical therapy to get her strength back, and it’s never fully returned. Whatever is going on with Madonna if she had to be intubated (meaning on life support) it’s very serious especially at that age.

      • Turtledove says:

        A family friend died of sepsis. VERY scary. I forget exactly how it happened, but I think she had a procedure, and then sepsis set in after and despite being under medical care and being hospitalized, they did NOT catch it soon enough. She was 65 and prior to that, spry as can be. Very scary.

    • AnnaKist says:

      Yes, this is very scary. Once sepsis sets in you just have to get to hospital. Nothing else will do. In the last two months, I have had two hospitalizations with infection in the lungs. The scary thing is that I didn’t even know I was fading away. I have blank spots where I cannot remember the paramedics being there at times, but at other times I can. My daughter asked me do I remember them saying this or that and I just cannot remember. I didn’t feel sick. But I had been sleeping and it seems I went downhill during my sleep. My daughter recognized the signs and she called the ambulance. I have been home a week, but still have lots of medical appointments to attend to follow up. They said the first one was a bacterial infection, but I am still waiting to hear about the second one as we had a virus going through the family members at the time and I seemed to be on the tail end of that.

      I hope Madonna has a full and speedy recovery.

      • CrazyHeCallsMe says:

        Praying for your full recovery AnnaKist.

      • Kitten says:

        OMG AnnaKist that is terrifying. NO symptoms AT ALL? Nothing??? O_O
        I’m just glad your daughter caught it and I hope you recover fully.

      • antipodean says:

        @AnnaKist, what a frightening thing to happen to you! Sending virtual hugs and good vibes to you. It is a reminder that we all need to take care of ourselves. It is easy to brush off symptoms as harmless, and the result can be devastating. Thank goodness for your lovely daughter looking out for you. Your comments here are always interesting and balanced, and you would be sorely missed. Take care, and best wishes.

      • Lady D says:

        I’m glad you’re getting better, AnnKIst. You’re entertaining, amusing and smart. We need more of you on this planet.

      • Nicegirl says:

        💕 🙏 oh my gosh Annakist!!! That is so scary and must be very difficult to bear. So glad you are here with us. sending you good health vibes & hoping you are feeling better/on the mend & fully recovered ASAFP. 🌄 🖖 + air hugs 🫂 for you & your daughter

      • tealily says:

        This is so scary! I’m so glad your daughter was there and saw what was happening!!

    • Smile says:

      It might be Legionnaires’ disease.

  2. Eleonor says:

    I wish her a full recovery.

  3. Mrs. Smith says:

    C-Diff is a bad one, too. Madge has always projected a very healthy lifestyle. I’m relieved to hear she is expected to recover!

    • Josephine says:

      I’d say she’s always projected a very controlled lifestyle, not too sure about healthy. She hasn’t seemed very healthy lately. I may be wrong but all of that cosmetic work does not seem like it would be kind to the body. I feel like she’s lost her voice a little – hope she becomes a very kick-butt woman who lives for many more years.

      • TheVolvesSeidr says:

        I think she has been using opiods for the past several years. I saw her on Jimmy Fallon a few years back and he was asking her if she drank alcohol (no), smoked weed (no – only posed w/ for pictures), cigarettes (no – only for pics again) and he asked her what DO you like? She said she likes opiods. I think she probably has chronic pain from injuries, from all the performing, maybe like Prince did. If you look at all her pics for the past 5 or so years, her pupils are tiny (again like Prince’s were). I hope it wasn’t an overdose, and if it was, I hope it was a wakeup call. I love her, I don’t care what she’s done to her face, I still love her.

      • FHMom says:

        @thrvolvesseidr
        I never heard this, but it makes so much sense. She has pushed her body to the limit for years. I wish her a speedy recovery. She’s a smart lady. Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call

      • nisa says:

        She is relatively young to have so many health issues so agree, I don’t know how “healthy” her lifestyle really is. It reminds me of goop, confusing extreme behaviors with wellness. I could certainly see her medicating for pain management (wasn’t she recently walking with a cane?). At any rate, I too hope she has a full recovery.

      • Eleonor says:

        In the last period she appeared out of her mind, I thought she was using.
        Extreme cosmetic procedures + hip injuries= chronical pain which vmcan only meanopioid.

  4. Nev says:

    Not ready to say goodbye!!
    Geez. Get well soon.

  5. Eowyn says:

    She’s made a lot of problematic anti-COVID precautions claims. The vulnerability to other infections in the aftermath of COVID is very serious. Precautions are still necessary. People need to think on how to limit their exposure as they try to navigate life.

  6. Nicegirl says:

    I will always cherish you Madonna 💗 Sending tons of loving energy & wishing for full & fast recovery.

  7. SarahLee says:

    Can you imagine being a 10 year old with Madonna as your mother? Lordy. I hope this is a wakeup call for her.

  8. Not a Swiftie says:

    When I first heard she was found unresponsive and hospitalized I immediately thought she had overdosed. From watching her videos on social media it seems very likely to me that she is on some kind of substance. A lot of times her eyes look very heavy lidded and unfocused. I always find it odd that no one else seems to see this too but maybe I’m just looking too deep into silly social media posts. 🤷🏻‍♀️

  9. blue says:

    I imagine her obsessive cosmetic procedures are always done by fully licensed practitioners, but these can still trigger infections. If antibiotics are rx’d afterwards, it’s important to take them.
    Scary for the 10 year olds, especially if they are the ones who found her out cold and “unresponsive.”

  10. Dee says:

    She had a hip replacement. An artificial joint can be risk for sepsis from a small infection.

  11. HeyKay says:

    I hope she recovers and cancels the tour.
    Her youngest are 10 years old, she needs to be here for them.

    • Kaye says:

      CDAN predicted this. Health scare to cancel tour bc poor ticket sales.

      • shockedandappalled says:

        Doubtful to me. Both shows in Toronto sold out in less than an hour. It was really competitive to get tickets. Would be shocked if this wasn’t true almost everywhere.

        In fact, way back in January it was announced 36 of the shows quickly sold out https://www.livenationentertainment.com/2023/01/join-the-celebration-madonna-sells-out-35-shows-across-global-run/

      • SarahLee says:

        Could have sold out because of resellers buying the tix, and then not being able to sell them.

      • ama1977 says:

        That’s still sold out according to the tour promoters. They get paid for the initial sale and DGAF if resellers can or can’t unload what they’ve bought.

      • Rascalito says:

        There’s nothing to the slow ticket sales rumour. The day she announced the tour, she sold over 600,000 tickets in less than 24 hours, which is an ASTOUNDING achievement, and she’s had to keep adding more dates due to high demand.

        I hope she recovers quickly. I’ve had Madonna and her music at my side since I was a kid, she’s been a constant in my life, creating the soundtrack to my life, and I hope she still has a long and creative life ahead of her.

        And by all accounts, even though the public thinks Madonna would be a wild mother, everyone who knows her says she’s a great mother and it’s easy to see how much she loves her kids and tries hard to raise them to be good people. They’re definitely not rich spoiled brats, they all seem very grounded and decent. And it’s nice to hear they’re all there to help her get through this health scare.

  12. Cee says:

    A few years ago my dad got a bacteria infection that sent him to the ICU for a week. He had a cut in his elbow and the bacteria got into his bloodstream that way. Thankfully he got antibiotics quickly but he needed numerous rounds for the bacteria to die. It was scary and as mild as it gets in this scenario.
    Since then we are very cautious of every cut we get as we never fully comprehended the danger they pose.

    Hope she fully recovers and takes time off.

  13. Leia says:

    This is how Covid will be handled. She’s anti-vaxx and “lockdown”, so they won’t say COVID tried to murder her.

    • Cosmic Cow says:

      I think they have stopped intubating COVID patients because of improvement in treatments. Of course, it’s none of my business and I wish her a speedy recovery from whatever.

  14. ME says:

    I saw a doctor on the news yesterday who said maybe it was due to the hip replacement she had back in 2020. There is a risk of infection building there over time. I didn’t even know she had a hip replacement. I mean why would she get that huge BBL done after getting a hip replaced? Insane. This could be from something else though.

  15. HeyKay says:

    I need to say this.
    Madonna, dammit!
    Get healthy, take care of yourself.
    Man, so many great entertainers we have lost.
    Freddie, Bowie, Tina, Jeff Beck, Prince, Elvis, Lennon, George Michael, Cobain, on and on.
    Madonna really has 40 years of a career she built by hard damn work!

    I had to pull off the road when the death of Prince was announced.
    No more losses.
    I hope her loved ones are supporting her with love in every way.
    Take another look at her 80’s videos.👍
    List of terrific Icons, Madonna better be on it.

    She had a hip surgery, any infection in her system could settle in that equipment and bc life threatening very quickly.

  16. Gubbinal says:

    I had a carcinoma between my lip and nose. They had to remove it surgically and then the doctor pulled flaps from my inner cheek to fill in the wound. A terrible infection ensued within a couple of days. I am recovering, but it was a little taste of the methodology of plastic surgery and the pain and infection were dreadful. I keep thinking of Joan Rivers. Madonna has had a lot of work done.
    In short I had a tiny part of a plastic surgery procedure to get rid of my cancer and the pain and infection were crazy for me. It takes longer to heal in an aging body. Madonna is slightly younger than I am.

    • tealily says:

      Oof, hope you’re feeling better! She’s certainly had her share of plastic surgery.

  17. Bread and Circuses says:

    I assume intubation is very hard on the throat. Given she’s a singer, I think pushing back the tour to ensure her vocal cords are fully healed is wise.

  18. jferber says:

    Stay strong and get well, Madonna. You are an icon.

  19. Gelya says:

    Wishing her a great recovery. We can’t lose her.
    I think she is on pain pills. She has been so hard on her body for years with all her workout and cosmetic surgeries. I think she had a prescription gone wrong and possible UTI on top of it. Fifty plus all those medicines even Tylenol start kicking up UTI’s. I say that with experience. I think she got sepsis.