Madonna Takes a Major Onstage Tumble at the BRIT Awards

Madonna’s show-closing number at the 35th Annual BRIT Awards, held Wednesday at the O2 Arena in London, marked her first BRITs performance in 20 years. It should have been a triumph for the “Living for Love” diva, but a scary onstage wardrobe malfunction ruined the moment and nearly led to disaster.

After a processional through the crowd with Madonna dressed in a full-body shroud, the singer’s devil-horned dancers attempted to remove her cape as she stood precariously at the edge of the stage’s upper platform. It appears, from almost instantly posted YouTube and Vine videos of the live broadcast, that a dancer’s yank of the cape (which failed to slip off) caused her to abruptly fall backward, tumbling several feet and across four steps.

The 56-year-old pop star seemed rattled, ceasing to sing for several long, painful seconds as dancers slowly helped her to her feet and she gathered her cape protectively around her shoulders. Much of her mojo was lost for the remainder of her much-hyped performance — but, ever the true professional, Madonna finished the number as planned.

Thankfully, Madonna appears to have emerged from this incident unscathed. Shortly after the BRITs, Madonna posted a sketch of her stage outfit on her Instagram account, with the reassuring message: “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”