Elton John, 78, and Madonna, 66, end decades-long feud amid singer’s health woes: ‘Finally buried the hatchet!’
Elton John and Madonna have finally ended their bitter feud after the piano-playing superstar appeared on Saturday Night Live at the weekend.
The two pop legends have not seen eye to eye for years, with Sir Elton once branding Madonna a “fairground stripper.”
However, time has proved a healer for one of the music industry’s frostiest fallouts.
Nearing 80, Sir Elton appears to be softening and issued a two-word plea to Madonna to fix things between them.
Sharing a picture of them standing side by side on Instagram, Madonna, 66, wrote: “We Finally Buried the Hatchet!!!”
“I went to see @eltonjohn perform on SNL this weekend!! WOW,” she continued.
The Material Girl revealed she had snuck out of her house as a teenager to see Elton perform live in Detroit.
She described it as “an unforgettable performance that helped me understand the transformative power of music”.
Madonna admitted she was devastated by Elton’s insults, particularly as he was a musical hero of hers.
“Over the decades it hurt me to know that someone I admired so much shared his dislike of me publicly as an artist,” she wrote. She decided to confront him backstage at SNL.
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“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.”
In response to Madonna, Sir Elton wrote 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.”
He also acknowledged Madonna’s early support for HIV/AIDS causes in the 1980s.
The pair’s feud began in 2002 when Sir Elton described Madonna’s Die Another Day as “the worst Bond tune ever”.
Things escalated in 2004 at the Q Awards when he said: “Madonna, best live act? F*** off. Since when has lip-syncing been live?”
In 2012, he further criticised her, saying: “Her career is over. Her tour has been a disaster and it couldn’t happen to a bigger c***. She looks like a f***ing fairground stripper.”
The two had once been friends and even performed together on stage.
Madonna revealed in her post that Elton told her he had written a song for her and wanted to collaborate.
“Then he told me had written a song for me and he wanted to collaborate. It was like everything came full circle!!” she wrote.
A collaboration between the pair could rival Elton’s partnership with Brandi Carlile for their soon-to-be-released “Who Believes In Angels?” album.
The album is on course to top the UK charts and become Sir Elton’s 10th UK number one album.
The reconciliation comes amid Sir Elton’s deteriorating health issues, which he recently revealed are impacting his family life and career.
He lost vision in his right eye in July after contracting an infection on holiday in the South of France.
“I can see you, but I can’t see TV, I can’t read,” he told The Times.
“I can’t see my boys playing rugby and soccer, and it has been a very stressful time.”
Sir Elton and husband David Furnish, 62, share sons Zachary, 14, and Elijah, 12.