Many people were surprised earlier this month when a 1995 love/breakup letter to Madonna from Tupac, written while the rapper was in prison, surfaced on an auction site. None more so than Madonna, given that she apparently had no idea that the letter was out of her possession. Madonna is now moving to block the sale of what she has pretty accurately described as “highly personal items,” reports Reuters. Also included in the loot is a hairbrush, personal photographs, a worn pair of underwear, and a second love letter in which she called Whitney Houston “horribly mediocre.”
“I understand that my DNA could be extracted from a piece of my hair. It is outrageous and grossly offensive that my DNA could be auctioned for sale to the general public,” Madonna said in a lawsuit brought against Gotta Have It Collectibles. She called the auction’s consigner, Darlene Lutz, a “former friend” who had “betrayed my trust in an outrageous effort to obtain my possessions without my knowledge or consent.”
Rumors that Madonna and Tupac had dated were confirmed in 2015, when Madge was recalling an infamous Letterman appearance during which she pilloried the host for obsessing over her sex life. “I was dating Tupac Shakur at the time and the thing is he got me all riled up on life in general,” she told Howard Stern. (She later said she thought this was already public knowledge.) But the 1995 letter revealed that the relationship was more than a fling. Tupac wrote that he was concerned about what dating a white woman would do to his image, but the breakup is really quite heartfelt and sincere.
“For you to be seen with a black man wouldn’t in any way jeopardize your career, if anything it would make you seem that much more open and exciting,” Tupac wrote in the letter. “I offer my friendship once again this time my stronger & focused… I felt compelled to tell you… just in case anything happened 2 me. Please be careful Madonna. Everyone is not as honorable as they seem there are those whose hearts bleed with envy & evil. They would not hesitate to do you harm! Let my 6 bullets be proof of that!” If her effort to block the auction is unsuccessful, the letter is expected to sell for up to $400,000.
Related link: Tupac explains why he broke up with Madonna in 1995 love letter
Credits
Text Hannah Ongley
Photography Patrick McMullan via Getty Images