Madonna's backup dancers refuted claims of her being found unconscious due to drug overdose

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Fans may be 'Hung Up' about speculations that Madonna used drugs during her health crisis in June 2023, but her backup dancers are here to dispel those claims.

On a recent episode of David Yontef's podcast, 'Behind the Velvet Rope', special guests Niki Haris and Donna De Lory refuted claims that Madonna received Narcan for a drug overdose when she was discovered unconscious on her bathroom floor in 2023.

Madonna has never acknowledged in the media that she has a mental health diagnosis or that she has been a long-term drug addict. But her fans and the media have always conjectured that drugs are the cause of her erratic conduct.

Madonna's backup dancers claim they 'cannot see' singer doing drugs

Witness accounts state that Madonna was discovered unconscious in her residence in June 2023 following what seemed to be a drug overdose. Narcan, a drug praised for reversing the symptoms of opiate overdoses, was quickly given by paramedics.

The sudden resurgence of the music icon immediately gained prominence, arousing considerable curiosity and highlighting Narcan's efficacy.

Speaking on the 'Behind the Velvet Rope' podcast, Niki Haris admitted: "I would definitely care if she's got an opiate, but, you know, here's the deal, [I] cannot see it."

"Don't wanna get into the gossip of it and if any kind of drug use was going on, it ain't from Madonna."

Haris went on to mention possible explanations for the need for a Narcan injection besides drug abuse: "She might have ran too hard and twisted her ankle, or put on some shoes that, you know, got a cut and got an infection and kept working on working through it anyway, with the blood coming out of her feet."

Harris continued, "Now, that sounds more like Madonna," pointing out that the Pop Queen "wouldn't stop when hurt." 

"She's saying, 'the body is 23', when it's really 63. That sounds more like Madonna [than the use of a] drug," Harris exclaimed, referring to the 65-year-old 'Frozen' singer.

Although Narcan is most typically used to treat narcotic overdoses, it can also be used to reverse acute septic shock—a condition when an infection is so acute that the patient's immune system is causing excessive reactions to the infection, causing harm to the body, per OK! Magazine.

Drug addiction "doesn't sound like the Madonna," De Lory agreed with the other backup dancer. She added that the 'Material Girl' singer would make a better analogy for the addiction by "pushing [herself] and having a goal and trying to get there and losing sight of the big picture of just [her] overall well-being."

Expanding on assertions that Madonna is a "drug addict," Harris adamantly said, "Nah."

Madonna earlier stated that drug use is a spiritual experience

Madonna acknowledged in 2014 that she has "tried everything once" in her sparse remarks regarding using narcotics. In a 2014 interview, Madonna acknowledged that doing drugs is a spiritual experience.

During an interview with magician David Blaine, Madonna stated that 'plugging into the matrix' is the key.

"If you get high, you can do that, which is why a lot of people drop acid or do drugs, because they want to get closer to God," Madonna remarked at the time.

The 65-year-old pop sensation claimed that her song 'Devil Prays' is "about how people take drugs to connect to God or to a higher consciousness," per Global News.

According to her, using drugs is not something she especially enjoys, and “as soon as I was high, I spent my time drinking tons of water to get it out of my system. As soon as I was high, I was obsessed with flushing it out of me. I was like, ‘Okay, I’m done now.'”

However, the mother of six realized that drug use has potential risks. Speaking about her personal drug experiences, Madonna said she had "tried everything once."

She warned in the 2014 interview: "There’s going to be a short circuit, and that’s the illusion of drugs, because they give you the illusion of getting closer to God, but ultimately they kill you. They destroy you."