Brother says Ritchie caused Madonna rift

NEW YORK, July 14 (UPI) -- Madonna's brother Christopher Ciccone says Guy Ritchie, the British filmmaker who married the pop star, is responsible for a rift between the siblings.

Ciccone, who is openly gay, claimed in an exclusive interview with "Good Morning America," that Ritchie is a homophobe and is responsible for the estrangement between Ciccone and his sister, ABC News said on its Web site.

Ciccone was on the show to promote his new memoir, "Life With My Sister Madonna," which was released Monday.

In an interview that aired on "GMA" Monday, Ciccone was asked what happened to his once close relationship with his sister.

"Guy Ritchie pretty much happened to our relationship, for the most part," he replied. "The best way to get to my sister is to get in bed with her, you know what I mean? And since I wasn't doing that, and ... wasn't about to, you know, that person -- like I said -- who speaks to her, the last person to speak to her at night, has the most influence. And (Guy and I) both couldn't really exist in the same hemisphere."

ABC News said Madonna's spokeswoman has declined to comment on Ciccone's various claims until his new book was released.

"I'm not taking revenge at all," Ciccone said of the book on "GMA." "I'm telling what I consider to be a great tale."