Singers Elton John and Madonna met recently to settle a long-standing feud.
Madonna posted a photo of herself hugging Elton John backstage at Saturday Night Live in New York last weekend on Instagram on April 7. The 66-year-old singer wrote that she and Elton John "finally buried the hatchet."
In the long article, Madonna said that she had admired Elton John since she was a child and that seeing the famous singer perform while in high school changed her life. According to Madonna, Elton John inspired her, showed her that being different was a good thing, and made her no longer feel like an outsider. Therefore, the singer was very sad when she was often criticized by Elton later.
Madonna wrote: "Over the years, it has been heartbreaking to know that someone I admire publicly dislikes me as an artist. I don't understand that. When people told me that Elton John was the musical guest on SNL, I decided to go."
The Vogue singer said that she went to meet Elton John backstage at SNL. "The first thing he said was: 'Forgive me' and that's when the wall between us collapsed," Madonna said. After that, the two hugged each other to erase all conflicts. Elton also told Madonna he had written a song for her and wanted to collaborate.
Elton John shared Madonna's post on his Instagram Story, calling the backstage encounter "a healing moment." He thanked Madonna for coming to the concert and forgave him for his "big mouth."
The feud between the two dates back to the 2000s, largely over the Rocket Man singer. Elton John called Madonna's 2002 James Bond song Die Another Day "the worst James Bond song ever." In 2004, he attacked Madonna when she was nominated for Best Live Performance at the Q Awards, accusing her of lip-syncing. In 2012, the singer said in an interview that Madonna looked like a "fairground stripper."
On Instagram on Monday, Elton John wrote that he was not proud of what he said. The 78-year-old British star praised Madonna's groundbreaking work for paving the way for a generation of female artists and thanked her for supporting HIV/AIDS prevention in the 1980s. "I am grateful that we can move forward. I am increasingly distressed by the divisions in our world today," he wrote, expressing hope that this reconciliation will lead to great things.