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

Madonna has said she has “finally buried the hatchet” with Sir Elton John and hinted at a possible collaboration, years after he called her a “fairground stripper” and she “should be shot” for lip-syncing.

The pair have had a tense relationship since 2002, when Sir Elton called her Die Another Day Bond theme “the worst ever” in an interview, then told her to “f*** off” during the 2004 Q Awards.

But in a post on Instagram on Monday, Madonna saw Sir Elton perform with Brandi Carlile on the US comedy show Saturday Night Live and said: “We finally buried the hatchet.

“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.”

Madonna’s comments appear sincere, despite Sir Elton later making even harsher remarks about her talent and accusing her of lip-syncing.

He 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 landed the Super Bowl halftime show in 2012, Elton reacted by saying “make sure you lip-sync good”.

Speaking about one of Madonna’s tours, he had even more stark remarks.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

Beginning her career in 1979, Madonna saw her career peak in the 1980s with hits such as Like A Virgin, Like A Prayer and Material Girl, and she has achieved 13 UK number-one singles and 12 UK number-one albums.

Sir Elton, 78, released his debut album Empty Sky in 1969, and went on to achieve global stardom with a string of 1970s albums such as Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973), Don’t Shoot Me I’m Only the Piano Player (1973) and Madman Across the Water (1971).