Elton John and Madonna 'bury the hatchet' after decades-long feud

8 April 2025, 13:53 | Updated: 8 April 2025, 15:13

Madonna 'buried the hatchet' with Sir Elton John years after he called her a 'fairground stripper'.

Madonna said "forgiveness if a powerful tool", decades after their feud.

In a social media post on Monday, Madonna said she saw Sir Elton perform with Brandi Carlile on comedy show Saturday Night Live.

Their tense relationship began after Sir Elton called Madonna a "fairground stripper" who "should be shot" for lip-syncing while performing.

In 2002, Sir Elton called her Die Another Day Bond theme "the worst ever" - and told her to "f*** off" during the Q Awards 2002.

However, Madonna said on Monday: "I went to see @eltonjohn perform on SNL this weekend, wow, I remembered when I was in high school- I snuck out of the house one night to see Elton perform live in Detroit.

"It was an unforgettable performance that helped me understand the transformative power of music.

"Seeing him perform when I was in high school changed the course of my life. I had always felt like an outsider growing up and watching him on stage helped me to understand that it was OK to be different, to stand out, to take the road, less travelled. In fact, it was essential.

"Over the decades it hurt me to know that someone I admired so much shared his dislike of me publicly as an artist. 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.

"Forgiveness is a powerful tool, within minutes we were hugging."

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Sir Elton once said: "Madonna, best live act? F**k off.

"Since when has lip-syncing been live? Sorry about that, but I think everyone who lip-syncs on stage in public when you pay like 75 quid to see them should be shot. Thank you very much. That’s me off her Christmas card list, but do I give a toss? No."

When Madonna scored the Super Bowl halftime show in 2012, he responded: "make sure you lip-sync good".

Sir Elton previously said: "If Madonna had any common sense, she would have made a record like ‘Ray of Light,’ stayed away from the dance stuff and just been a great pop singer and made great pop records, which she does brilliantly. But no… And she looks like a f*****g fairground stripper."

Sir Elton replied to Madonna on Instagram: "Thank you for coming to see me at SNL, and thank you for forgiving me and my big mouth.

"I’m not proud of what I said, particularly when I think about all the ground-breaking work you have done as an artist – paving the way for an entire generation of female artists to succeed and be true to themselves.

"You were also one of the very first people to rise up against HIV/AIDS in the 80s, bringing love and compassion to so many who desperately needed it.

"I’m grateful we can move forward. I’m increasingly distressed by all the divisiveness in our world at the moment.

"Both you and I have wholeheartedly been accepted and embraced by communities who are under threat around the world.

"By pulling together, I’m hopeful that we can make great things happen for those who really need support, and have a lot of fun doing it."