Elton John appears to quash Madonna feud after Celebration Tour’s AIDS victims tribute
Elton John has thanked Madonna for her current Celebration Tour. (Getty)
Queer music legend Elton John has thanked Madonna for her “advocacy and passion”, seemingly putting an end to their decades-long feud.
In an Instagram post, Elton John said that he was “deeply moved” that Madonna had paid tribute to the scores of LGBTQ+ people who have lost their lives to AIDS.
During the Queen of Pop’s current, critically acclaimed Celebration Tour, there is a segment where she sings her True Blue hit ‘Live To Tell’ from a platform suspended in the air.
Behind her, screens show hundreds of people whose lives were claimed by the disease, including her dance teacher Christopher Flynn, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, and friends Keith Haring and Martin Burgoyne.
On social media, many fans have heralded the moment as the very best part of the tour.
Expressing his gratitude, Elton shared a photo from one of the “Live To Tell” performances, writing: “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.
“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.”
Elton runs his own charity in the UK, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which works to find innovative HIV prevention methods and provides support for those living with HIV.
Though the reasoning for Elton’s post was sincere, some fans were surprised to see him write anything positive about Madonna at all, considering the pair have had a rocky relationship in the past.
In 2004, he suggested that she “should be shot” for allegedly lip-syncing during her concerts.
At the Q Awards, he spoke out after Madonna was nominated for a “Best Live Act” award.
“Madonna, best live act? F**k off. Since when has lip-syncing been live? Everyone who lip-syncs in public on stage when you pay £75 to see them should be shot”, he said.
“That’s me off her f**king Christmas card list, but do I give a toss? No.”
At the 2012 Golden Globes, the pair went head-to-head in the “Best Original Song” category, with both Elton’s Gnomeo & Juliet song “Hello” and Madonna’s W.E. song “Masterpiece” up for the award.
On the red carpet, Elton said that Madonna didn’t have a “f**king chance” of winning the award. Later on in the evening, she did.
Also in 2012, he slammed her MDMA tour while speaking on Australia’s Channel 7.
“She’s such a nightmare… her career is over, I can tell you that. Her tour has been a disaster and it couldn’t happen to a bigger c*nt,” he raged. “And she looks like a f*cking fairground stripper.”
While Elton has previously apologised for his comments and said the feud was “over and done with”, his latest post makes it clear that he’s ready to celebrate Madonna and all she’s done for the LGBTQ+ community.
