Madonna Suffered Whiplash After 'Nightmare' Brit Awards Fall

by Natalie Stone

A day following Madonna’s nasty fall during her finale performance at the U.K.’s Brit Awards, the singer said she suffered whiplash as a result of the “nightmare” accident.

In an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show Thursday, the 56-year-old Madonna said, “I had a little bit of whiplash, I smacked the back of my head. And I had a man standing over me with a flashlight until about 3 a.m. to make sure I was compos mentis.”

Madonna was yanked down three steps onstage at the start of her finale performance at the Brit Awards. One of her dancers was supposed to pull her cape away, but Madonna later said it was on too tight, resulting in the wardrobe malfunction.

"I was told to tie my cape and start much further back and I had to walk further, and everyone was worried my cape would slide off, so they tied it really tight around my neck," explained the singer. "I got to the top of the stairs and I pulled the silky string, and it wouldn’t come undone. … I had two choices: I could either be strangled or fall, and I chose to fall."

Madonna reportedly refused to watch a replay of the incident during the talk-show interview. She admitted that “it was a nightmare,” and added, “I actually created a horror show for everyone.”

Despite the hard fall, she completed the show and took to Instagram after the awards to thank the designer of the cape. “Armani hooked me up! My beautiful cape was tied too tight! But nothing can stop me and love really lifted me up! Thanks for your good wishes! I’m fine! #livingforlove.”

Madonna Falls Hard, Drops Mic During Brit Awards Performance

Coincidentally, “Living for Love” contains the lyrics: “lifted me up and watched me stumble” and “took me to heaven and let me fall down.”

Nevertheless, Madonna is saying no to capes in the future: “No more capes, cape fear is over.”