Lady Gaga has reached out to Madonna via Twitter, praising the iconic pop singer's speech accepting her 2016 Woman of the Year award at Billboard's Women In Music 2016 event. The two singers have had a tumultuous relationship through the years, with Gaga having recently made comments critical of comparisons between herself and Madonna.
Gaga Vs. Madonna
It looks as if Lady Gaga has extended an olive branch to Madonna after a recent cold war between the two singers. Ever since Lady Gaga appeared on the scene, comparisons between the two singers have sparked some heated comments by each performer regarding the other.
The two singers certainly have a lot in common. Both are females of Italian American heritage who sing and dance to pop music which they write and produce. Both honed their chops living in New York's gritty Lower East Side and rose to prominence in the Big Apple. Both made their style and appearance an essential aspect of their image as an artist, and many observers feel that without Madonna, there would in fact be no Lady Gaga.
When Gaga first came on the scene back in 2008, there was instantly talk that she was copying Madonna, but a guest appearance by Madonna together with Gaga on a 2009 Saturday Night Live episode quelled rumors of a feud. That was until 2011, when Gaga's new release "Born This Way" reignited the fire. The song sounded suspiciously like Madonna's iconic hit "Express Yourself", and when asked about the tune Madonna agreed, calling Gaga's music "reductive." Things have been chilly between the two ever since, and in a recent interview with Gaga to promote her new Joanne album , she threw some subtle digs at the older superstar.
"Madonna and I are very different," said Gaga. "I don't mean to disrespect Madonna...she's a nice lady, and she's had a fantastic, huge career. She's the biggest pop star of all time...But I play a lot of instruments. I write all my own music. I spend hours and hours a day in the studio. I'm a producer. I'm a writer. What I do is different."
Soon afterwards, both singers just appeared on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" segment, one after the other, and it seemed as if Madonna might be trying to one up her sort-of nemesis. After Gaga told the story of having bought Michael Jackson's costume collection, Madonna told Corden that she had in fact made out with the late pop star.
Gaga Reaches Out To Madonna Via Twitter
Now, however, it looks as if Gaga is buddying up to Madonna following the latter's empowering speech about women in music at the Billboard event honoring her as 2016's Woman Of The Year.
"As women, we have to start appreciating our own worth and each other's worth," Madonna encouraged in her talk. "Seek out strong women to befriend, to align yourself with, to learn from, to collaborate with, to be inspired by, to support, and be enlightened by."
Those words clearly resonated with Gaga, who tweeted:
@Madonna your speech at the Billboard Music Awards was inspiring. You're so brave & strong. Thanks for being that for us girls we need that.
— xoxo, Joanne (@ladygaga) December 12, 2016
Madonna and Gaga have both been increasingly political in the wake of Donald Trump's presidential victory over the female candidate they both supported, Hillary Clinton, giving the two another common bond. Based on her conciliatory tweet, it sounds as if now Lady Gaga may not mind being compared to Madonna after all.
