Madonna took time out of her bizzy touring schedule to pay a hospital visit to the injured crewman who were involved in the collapse of her Sticky & Sweet Tour stage in Marseille, France last week. The accident, as you may recall, claimed the lives of two stagehands and injured 10 others. Here are photos of Maddy and her daughters Lourdes Maria and Chifundo Mercy James along with manager Guy Oseary at the hospital in Marseille that is treating the injured men:
Madonna visited on Sunday workers injured while building a stage for her concert in southern France, as well as meeting the family of one of two workers killed in the accident. A French worker was killed on the spot on Thursday when part of the roof over the stage being built for the pop singer’s concert collapsed while a British worker died in hospital a day later. Eight other workers were injured, five seriously, and are being treated at two hospitals. The concert had been scheduled for Sunday, but it was canceled immediately after the incident. “We are very touched that an actress (and musician) with such talent and quality has also an extraordinary amount of human qualities as well,” Marseille Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin told reporters outside one hospital. “She has already gone to Aix-en-Province, I think, to see the family of this worker who unfortunately has died. And, she comes here to the hospital in Marseille to meet the injured. So, we are very touched.” Marseille public prosecutors have launched an inquiry into the deaths at the Velodrome stadium. A police source said one of the four cranes used to erect the stage slipped, causing the roof to buckle. Madonna, who was in Italy at the time of the accident, issued a statement saying she was devastated by the news and expressed her deepest sympathies to all those affected. Marseille city authorities said all the victims worked for Live Nation, the company which was preparing the show. The next stop on Madonna’s “Sticky and Sweet” tour is scheduled for Barcelona, Spain on Tuesday, July 21.
Kudos to Madonna for taking the time to visit her injured crewman in the hospital. While I’m pretty certain she was not on a first name basis with her stage crew, I’m sure it means a lot to them that she cares enough to visit them in the hospital to check on their progress. I’m sure it was devastating for her to learn that two men lost their lives in that terrible accident, I think it was very cool of her to personally visit the injured crew. Even tho she had nothing at all to do with the accident, it’s clear that she feels some bit of responsibility for her crewman. I hope they all heal well and will back on their feet in no time. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the men who lost their lives.
[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; Source]
Eek! I thought Madonna was an Olsen twin in that first photo.
I hope the 10 injured heal quickly… and also hope the families of the 2 who passed are doing alright. I’d imagine they aren’t… :(
Such a terrible tragedy. I’m glad Madge stepped up and did the right thing by personally visiting Marseilles and the injured and their families. I sure hope she pays for funeral expenses. Not that the accident was her fault, but I think that would be the big-hearted thing to do especially by someone with her financial assets. And the show should be dedicated to the two who lost their lives and maybe even donations could be collected at the venue to help out the families left behind.
[...] Madonna: taking time off from being the Queen of the World to visit her injured stagehands. [PITNB] [...]
Why would she have to pay their funeral expenses? She had no responsibility for the tragedy. The insurance should pay and so should the construction company. She already dedicated her show to them, spoke out about what happened, cried repeatedly, visited the families and the injured, what else does she need to do to prove she’s sad about what happened? I hate how everything is expected of her but if it were someone else, they’d be excused.