Madonna and Elton John end decades-long feud
Madonna and Elton John are moving on from their longstanding feud that has been the subject of fan speculation for decades.
It all started when John publicly expressed his distaste for one of her songs, saying that her contribution to the Bond universe, the theme ‘Die Another Day’ from 2002’s film of the same name, was “the worst Bond tune ever.”
“It hasn’t got a tune,” he continued. “James Bond themes are usually very camp, and this one’s different… They should have gone for somebody like Lulu and Shirley Bassey, or maybe I’m in that league?”
Those comments kicked off a very public spat that has lasted over two decades. John later accused Madonna of lip-syncing when she won an award for live performance, and reportedly labelled her a “miserable cow” when she refused to perform at a party he’d invited her to.
Things got worse when the ‘Like a Virgin’ singer dismissed Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’ as “reductive,” prompting John to label her as “ungracious and nasty.”
Throughout the feud, John has fired most of the shots while Madonna and her PR team have repeatedly downplayed everything. She’s even voiced her respect for the ‘Rocket Man’ singer on many occasions.
This week, she announced to fans via Instagram that the war of words is behind them. She wrote in a caption under a photo of the two singers smiling and embracing: “We Finally Buried the Hatchet!!!”
Madonna went on to explain that she went to see John perform at Saturday Night Live over the weekend and shared an anecdote about sneaking out of the house one night in high school to see him perform live in Detroit. The experience “changed the course of my life,” she asserted, adding that it helped her feel okay for being different as a teenager.
“Over the decades it hurt me to know that someone I admired so much shared his dislike of me publicly as an artist,” she continued. “I didn’t understand it. I was told Elton John was the musical guest on SNL and I decided to go… I needed to go backstage and confront him. When I met him, the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘Forgive Me’ and the wall between us fell down.”
She concluded that John told her he had written a song for her and wanted to collaborate, noting, “It was like everything came full circle!!”
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