Madonna has hinted at a prior rift in her relationship with her eldest daughter Lourdes Leon, revealing they co-wrote a song to 'heal' their bond. The 67-year-old pop icon, promoting her upcoming album Confessions II, told Interview magazine that Lourdes approached her to write together as a way to mend their relationship.
Co-Writing as Healing
'It was a really important moment, and it solidified the idea that now is the time to make this record,' Madonna said, referring to the track co-written with Lourdes, 29. The mother-of-six explained that the album was inspired by the deaths of her brother Christopher Ciccone and her stepmother Joan, using music to process grief.
'All these symbolic things happened,' she said. 'My stepmother died, my brother was ill, my brother died, my daughter approached me… You know what I mean? It's hard for me to write a song about nothing. I have to tell a story. So I wrote about a lot of family trauma, and then we started making dance music.'
Past Tensions Revealed
Lourdes, who also appears in Madonna's music video for 'Danceteria' alongside Sabrina Carpenter and Benedict Cumberbatch, previously described her mother as a 'control freak' in a 2021 interview with the same magazine. 'We don't get any handouts in my family. Obviously, I grew up with extreme privilege. There's no denying that,' Lourdes said. 'I think my mom saw all these other kids of famous people, and she was like, “My kids are not going to be like this”. Also, I feel like if your parents pay for things, then it gives them leverage over you. My mom is such a control freak, and she has controlled me my whole life. I needed to be completely independent from her as soon as I graduated high school.'
Family Dynamics
Madonna welcomed Lourdes in 1996 with ex-partner Carlos Leon. She later had son Rocco Ritchie with director Guy Ritchie and adopted five more children. The singer's new album Confessions II is a sequel to her 2005 record Confessions on a Dance Floor and includes a short film. Metro has contacted Lourdes Leon's representative for comment.
