Madonna removes image of Luther Vandross from her AIDS tribute… at the request of the singer’s estate since he passed from a stroke

Madonna paid tribute to artists who died of AIDS during her Celebrations tour, but a recent performance featured a surprise addition: Luther Vandross.

An image of Vandross was displayed next to Queen singer Freddie Mercury during Madonna’s tour stop in Sacramento on Saturday.

After word of the image surfaced, the late singer – who died in 2005 at the age of 54 from complications of a 2003 stroke – contacted Madonna, who quietly had the image removed.

Vandross’ estate made it clear in a statement that the singer had never been diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV virus.

“Luther Vandross passed away in 2005 due to complications following a stroke two years earlier,” the estate said. Page six in a statement.

Vandross’ estate clarified in a statement that the singer had never been diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV virus

“While we appreciate Madonna’s acknowledgment of the lives lost to AIDS, Luther was NEVER diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV virus,” the statement continued.

“We are unsure where she or her production team received false medical information claiming otherwise,” the statement added.

“We are currently in contact with her management to remove Luther Vandross from the tribute,” the statement concluded, with the report adding that Madonna had removed the image from the tribute.

News of Vandross’ image being added to the tribute came from an Instagram user named Kevin James Smith, who has followed Madonna on tour.

He had shown a photo of his friend Tommy, who also died of AIDS, at the Seattle show and was able to have the photo included in the tribute for Saturday’s show in Sacramento.

He posted a video of the tribute, which featured Vandross alongside Queen’s Freddie Mercury.

That message was spotted by Matthew Rettenmund, author of Encyclopedia Madonnica, who posted the image on his Instagram.

‘An interesting development during Madonna’s Sacramento “Celebration Tour” show Saturday night. Kevin (skymax.music.travel.style) managed to add his late friend Tommy to the ‘Live to Tell’ AIDS Memorial wall, which is so amazing,” he began.

That message was spotted by Matthew Rettenmund, author of Encyclopedia Madonnica, who posted the image on his Instagram

“While we appreciate Madonna’s acknowledgment of the lives lost to AIDS, Luther was NEVER diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV virus,” the statement continued.

“We are currently in contact with her management to remove Luther Vandross from the tribute,” the statement concluded, with the report adding that Madonna has removed the image from the tribute.

Vandross never publicly came out as gay, although after his death in 2005, friends such as Bruce Villanch and Patti LaBelle confirmed he was gay.

‘But keen observers also noticed that Luther Vandross was suddenly added. Although he was gay (and closeted until the end), and although there were rumors that Vandross had lost weight due to an AIDS-related illness, his death in 2005 has never been attributed to AIDS complications,” Rettenmund added to.

‘I’m not sure why it was added too late, but it’s an interesting choice. I know a lot of closeted men tried to hide their diagnosis even when they were dead (Robert Reed tried, but his death certificate listed AIDS; Liberace – who isn’t on the Live to Tell wall – claimed he had lost weight on a watermelon diet),” he added.

Vandross never publicly came out as gay, although after his death in 2005, friends such as Bruce Villanch and Patti LaBelle confirmed he was gay.

The singer also filed a defamation lawsuit against a British magazine after it claimed his 85-pound weight loss was due to AIDS.