Madonna's Brother Blames His Family for Being Homeless, an Alcoholic

A few days ago, Anthony Ciccone, Madonna's older brother, grabbed headlines after speaking to a Michigan newspaper about his current situation: he is homeless, living under a bridge and fearing he might not make it through the winter because of the blistering cold.

The Sun also caught up with him and got him to go a bit more into the details of the events that landed him in the streets – and he insists he doesn't want his famous sister's money.

At the same time, though, he does blame his family for ending up the way he did, though he doesn't make a secret of being an alcoholic.

“How did I end up here? Ask my family. The only reason people seem to care about me is who my sister is. I know I could tell stories about her but I won’t. She wants nothing to do with me. She has her life,” Anthony tells the British tabloid.

For a very long time, he tried to make his life work: he moved to Hollywood to work in movies and then relocated to Michigan, where he worked on his father's vineyard until last year, when he was fired and kicked out.

Anthony doesn't say whether his drinking problem had anything to do with it, but he does hint that he's always been considered the “black sheep” in the family.

“I’m the eldest and I’m what I call the red-headed stepchild – that’s an American expression for an unwanted kid. The black sheep of the family, if you like,” he says.

“I am not going to ask Madonna for anything. Why would I? We had little to do with each other, even in the 1980s when I was in New York and she moved there to find fame and fortune,” Anthony adds.

The Sun also describes how a regular day in his life is like: getting up, going for breakfast at a local Methodist church, buying strong beer with whatever money he has, chatting with other homeless people, fearing the cold will give him frostbite.

“The police directed me to this river bridge. It’s out of the way – the tourists can’t see us hidden down here. But it is rough. I’ve seen people get thrown in the river. The native Americans get drunk and start fights,” he says.

“I fell in the river once. I slipped on ice and cracked my head open. I was rescued by a cop,” Anthony adds.

A cafe owner near the bridge Anthony now calls “home” says his family did everything they could to get him out of there and back to a regular life.