Luther Vandross’s estate has asked Madonna to remove the late singer from the AIDS tribute portion of her “Celebration” tour after she included a photo of him during a tour stop in Sacramento over the weekend.
Throughout her latest tour, the pop star has remembered friends and famous names who lost their lives to the condition with a photo montage during her performance of 1986 song “Live to Tell.” Herb Ritts, Freddie Mercury, Keith Haring and Sylvester are a few of Madge’s peers featured in the memorial.
But Vandross’ entry came as a shock on Saturday.
“Luther Vandross passed away in 2005 due to complications from a stroke suffered two years earlier,” a rep for his estate told Page Six in a statement.
“While we appreciate Madonna’s recognition of those lives lost to AIDS, Luther was NEVER diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV Virus,” they said.
“We’re not sure where she or her production team received false medical information claiming otherwise. We’re currently in contact with her management to remove Luther Vandross from the tribute,” the spokesperson for the estate said.
“Encyclopedia Madonnica” author and editor, Matthew Rettenmund, flagged Vandross’ inclusion in an Instagram post after a Madonna fan “was able to get his late friend Tommy added to the ‘Live to Tell’ AIDS memorial wall, which is so wonderful,” he wrote.
“But sharp-eyed observers also noticed Luther Vandross was suddenly added. Though gay (and closeted to the end), and though Vandross was rumored to have lost weight due to AIDS-related illness, his 2005 death has never been attributed to AIDS complications,” he wrote.
“Not sure why he was added belatedly, but it is an interesting choice,” Rettenmund added.
Vandross reportedly sued over a 1985 tabloid report claiming his dramatic weight loss was due to the illness.
A rep for Madonna did not get back to us after several attempts.
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