It was meant to be a triumphant return to the MTV Video Music Awards stage. Twenty-three years after sharing that infamous onstage kiss with Britney Spears, Madonna came back to open the ceremony.
Yet while her past performances inspired a mix of admiration and shock, the prevailing reaction to Sunday night’s 10-minute medley was concern.
The opening performance was packed with star power. The 68-year-old Queen of Pop was joined by pop stars Sabrina Carpenter and Charli XCX as she performed songs from her latest album, Confessions II.
Longtime friend Debi Mazar also made a cameo, as did actress Julia Garner, who was once expected to portray Madonna in the now-shelved biopic about her life.
Even the high-profile appearances could not completely overshadow concerns about Madonna’s performance. Jerky movements, apparent physical discomfort — including a heavily strapped left knee — and fan speculation about lip-syncing made the appearance seem far removed from the electrifying shows that established her reputation.
A joke about removing a prop laser from her ‘a**’ failed to land, while she also appeared uncertain about which award she was accepting when she collected Best Dance. Madonna ultimately became the night’s biggest winner, taking home seven awards, but viewers were left asking the same question: Is Madonna okay?
The 68-year-old Queen of Pop was joined by pop star Charli XCX during her VMAs performance
The performance and star-studded cameos could not completely obscure concerns that Madonna’s energy appeared diminished
The appearance fell short of the electrifying performances that defined Madonna’s heyday
Now, sources close to the singer have told Our News Outlet that people around her are urging her to ease her schedule. ‘She is having everyone around her tell her to actually slow down. She says she has more energy than ever, but her family and friends are saying, “Take it easy,”’ one source said.
Despite those concerns, the source said Madonna is ‘showing signs of wanting to hit the road’ for a tour supporting her new album.
For those close to the pop icon, her chaotic appearance at this year’s VMAs was another unsettling moment — and a sign, they believe, that the famously determined singer is unwilling or unable to slow down.
Questions about Madonna’s health have intensified in recent years, particularly after she disclosed during a podcast interview with Jay Shetty that she had been hospitalized with sepsis in 2023. She said the ordeal left her unconscious for four days, on a ventilator and in an ‘induced coma for 48 hours.’
Her longtime manager, Guy Oseary, said at the time that Madonna had been ‘rushed to hospital and intubated after being found unresponsive.’
Although Oseary said she was expected to make a full recovery, the health crisis prompted widespread concern as Madonna prepared for her 40th anniversary tour.
Her condition was so grave that relatives were ‘preparing for the worst,’ a family member told Our News Outlet shortly after she was hospitalized.
The tour was subsequently postponed, and Madonna later spoke about the ‘near-death’ experience during her first show in 2024.
‘I’m pretty sure that was God saying to me, “Do you want to come? Want to come up with me?”’ she recalled. Her response, she said, was: ‘No!’
‘I would call in every other day and ask [my doctor] why I didn’t have any energy, when was my energy going to come back, when was I going to feel like myself again, when could I go on tour again?’ she added.
Sources close to the singer told Our News Outlet that she is ‘showing signs of wanting to hit the road’ despite calls from family and friends to slow down
Madonna has been the queen of the VMAs since 1984
She opened the show 23 years after she shared that infamous on-stage kiss with Britney Spears
Truth be told, Our News Outlet’s source admitted, despite her insistence that everything is fine those close to Madonna are aware that, if there is a tour, it may have to be ‘different than anything she’s done in the past’ to accommodate the singer’s current physical limitations.
The source said: ‘There’s a big debate between her and her team as to how the format of the show will be.
‘She wants to do something big but knows the reality that she can’t do the more extensive tours that she’s done in the past, probably because in some of her more recent concerts, it was too taxing for her.
‘I think she wants to scale it down, but the people around her are probably not wanting her to do anything at all other than a very small and limited run with no more than ten shows in ten cities.’
It’s hard not to see the pop icon’s latest output, from the new album to her VMAs appearance to a reported new music video expected in October, as a final bid at legacy building as she enters her fifth decade as one of the world’s most preeminent performers.
For years, it looked like she would achieve that with a biopic of epic proportions – one which she planned to write and direct herself. The project, which would focus on the story of her ascension to pop royalty, was initially greenlit with Universal Studios but was reportedly scrapped in 2023, due to what the singer said was a ‘falling out’ with Universal over budget.
‘We had a falling out, me and Universal, regarding budget,’ Madonna told Interview Magazine in June. ‘I’ve had an extraordinary life. I’ve had a huge life, so I needed a big budget… they couldn’t get their heads around it.’
According to another source close to Madonna, the singer hasn’t given up on making the biopic happen. They exclusively shared that the new album’s success has ‘revived interest in it,’ including sparking curiosity from Warner and production company A24.
‘Madonna was upset by the halting of the biopic but is quietly trying to find a new home for it because she really believes in it,’ the source told Our News Outlet.
The set also featured cameos by longtime best friend Debi Mazar and actress Julia Garner, who was once slated to portray Madge in her now shuttered biopic
Sabrina Carpenter joined her on stage when she received her Artist of the Year award
For the pop queen, maintaining control over her story and the project is of the utmost importance, especially after seeing what’s happened to the narratives of her friends in the industry, like Michael Jackson.
‘She is a control freak but has to be because she has seen what has happened to her peers who weren’t in control of their story,’ the source said.
‘She saw a really dreadful Michael Jackson TV biopic and is concerned that a low budget may lead to something similar, so will not settle on a lowly production budget because the movie has to cover all her eras.’
Representatives for Madonna have been contacted for comment.
The first source is confident that despite her seeming exhaustion at the VMAs, Madonna still has what it takes to get what she wants, whether it’s getting her movie made or going on tour.
‘Madonna is full of energy,’ the source said. ‘She just wants to get right straight back to work.’
