A Timeline of Elton John & Madonna’s Decades-Long Feud

It all started when Elton decided he wasn’t a fan of Madonna’s “Die Another Day,” her soundtrack contribution to the 2002 James Bond film of the same name. Calling it the “worst Bond tune ever,” he reportedly told U.K. outlet Sky News, “It hasn’t got a tune … 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?” he added. “I don’t think it’s the best Madonna record, and I’m a big fan.”

Elton did not mince words when he chose to slam Madge during his classic songwriter award acceptance speech at the 2004 Q awards, where she was up for best live act.

“Madonna, best f–king live act? F–k off,” he said. “Since when is lip-syncing live? Sorry about it, but I think everyone who lip-syncs in public on stage when you paid, like, 75 quid to see them should be shot. That’s me off her f–king Christmas card list, but do I give a toss? No.”

According to CBS News, Madonna’s rep, Liz Rosenberg, hit back in a statement: “Madonna does not lip-synch nor does she spend her time trashing other artists. She sang every note of her Re-Invention tour live and is not ashamed that she was well paid for her hard work. Elton John remains on her Christmas card list whether he is nice … or naughty.”

After the Q Awards, Elton reflected on his remarks about Madonna in an interview with Rolling Stone published weeks later. “For me, this moment in my life is about trying to be true to myself,” he began. “Maybe I shouldn’t have said what I said, but you know what? Anyone would have thought that I had said I believe that Hitler was right or something. Madonna was probably the wrong person to choose to level the accusations at, because there are far worse culprits. I kind of regret that. But you know what? I’m 57 — I’ve got to speak my mind.”

“I have great respect for her as a relevant and pioneering artist,” he added when asked whether he was still hoping to get a Christmas card from the “Vogue” singer. “I like Madonna, and I’ve had her to my house for tea. She’s probably hurt by what I said, but it was the British irreverence that was flying around the room … Do I regret saying that I don’t think live music is about lip-syncing? No. But do I regret having said Madonna’s name? Probably, because she’s one of the few who do it the least. But again, I think, ‘Well, I saw Shirley MacLaine, and I saw Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler and Mick Jagger all run around for two hours singing.’”

Elton gave an update on where he stood with Madonna about 10 months after the Q Awards debacle in an interview with The Telegraph, revealing that things were still a little frosty with the “Like a Virgin” artist. “I did send her two Christmas cards and they both came back,” he told the publication, laughing.

“It was just one of those off-the-cuff things,” he added of his remark. “I haven’t got Tourette’s syndrome, but I can’t censor myself. Why should I? But let’s leave it at that, I don’t want it to go any further, for Christ’s sake!”

Things got tense at the 2012 Golden Globes when Madonna and Elton were both nominated for best original song, the former for “Masterpiece” from W.E. and the latter for “Hello, Hello” from Gnomeo and Juliet. Even before the ceremony, the two musicians were already trading barbs, with the English superstar telling NBC’s Carson Daly that Madge didn’t “have a f–king chance of winning tonight.”

“Was he wearing a dress?” Madonna replied cooly when Daly later told her about Elton’s remarks. “May the best man win.”

As it turned out, Madge actually had quite a good chance of winning that night, with “Masterpiece” ending up being crowned winner. Elton’s husband, David Furnish, quickly sounded off about his spouse’s loss with a heated Facebook post, writing, “Madonna. Best song???? F**k off!!! Madonna winning Best Original Song truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit. Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in its narcissism.”

But for what it was worth, Madonna did say backstage after her win: “I hope [Elton] speaks to me for the next couple of years. He’s been known to get mad at me so I don’t know. He’s brilliant and I adore him so he’ll win another award. I don’t feel bad!”

Leading up to Madonna’s performance at the 2012 Super Bowl Halftime Show, Elton had one piercing piece of advice to share with her when asked on Good Morning America.

“Make sure you lip-sync good,” he simply said.

Months after the Golden Globes loss, Elton had surely cooled off, right? Wrong. In an interview with Molly Meldrum on Australian program Sunday Night, the icon absolutely ripped into Madonna, saying, “She’s such a nightmare.”

“Sorry, her career is over,” he continued. “Her tour has been a disaster and it couldn’t happen to a bigger c–t. She looks like a f–king fairground stripper. If Madonna had any common sense, she would have made a record like Ray of Light and stayed away from the dance stuff and just been a great pop singer and make great pop records, which she does brilliantly.”

Elton also blasted Madge for being “so horrible to [Lady] Gaga,” whose hit “Born This Way” Madonna had previously criticized for being “reductive” and too similar to her own “Express Yourself.”

At her MDNA Tour concert in Nice, France, Madonna gave Elton a pointed shoutout before playing “Masterpiece” — a.k.a., the track that beat out his own submission at the 2012 Globes.

“I’d like to dedicate this next song to a Mr. Elton John,” she told the crowd at the time. “I know he’s a big fan of it, and I know he’s a big fan of mine. And you know what? I forgive him. Gotta start somewhere.”

In his career-spanning memoir, Me, Elton shared his thoughts on the Madonna of it all 17 years after their feud first began. “I used to make fun of her for lip-synching on stage, but the problem really started when she ran Gaga down,” he wrote. “I got that Gaga’s single ‘Born This Way’ definitely sounded similar to ‘Express Yourself,’ but I couldn’t see why she was so ungracious and nasty about it, rather than taking it as a compliment … particularly when she claims to be a champion for women.”

As for his more offensive comments on Sunday Night years prior — like the “fairground stripper” remark — John wrote that he didn’t think the network would air everything he said. “They broadcast it anyway, which brought that particular old friendship to a very swift conclusion,” he noted. “Still, I shouldn’t have said it.”

Elton actually had something positive to say about Madge after she paid tribute to the lives lost in the HIV/AIDS crisis during her Celebration Tour. Posting a photo of the singer on stage, standing in a floating rectangle as the faces of thousands of people who died from the disease surrounded her, the “Tiny Dancer” artist wrote on Instagram, “We’re deeply moved by the heartfelt tribute from @madonna during her Celebration Tour performance of ‘Live to Tell’, honouring the 40.4 million people we’ve lost to AIDS.”

“Thank you, Madonna, for your advocacy and compassion, and for raising important awareness of the ongoing mission to end AIDS,” he continued. “With 39 million people living with HIV today, 9.4 million of whom are not currently on life-saving treatment, we must keep using our voices and platforms to ensure everyone has the opportunity to live full and healthy lives.”

At long last, Sir Elton and Madge finally worked things out when the latter came to visit the former backstage the night of his April 5 Saturday Night Live performance with Brandi Carlile. Sharing a photo she snapped with the Rocket Man, Madonna wrote, “We Finally Buried the Hatchet!!!”

“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, noting that she’d been a fan of Elton’s since she was in high school. “I didn’t understand it … 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. Then he told me had written a song for me and he wanted to collaborate. It was like everything came full circle!!”

In the comments, Elton thanked her for coming to see him at SNL — and for “forgiving me and my big mouth.”

“I’m not proud of what I said,” he added. “Particularly when I think about all the groundbreaking 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 80’s, bringing love and compassion to so many who desperately needed it. I’m grateful we can move forward.”