Madonna Says She and Elton John ‘Finally Buried the Hatchet’ After Decades-Long Public Feud

It looks like hell has apparently frozen over, because Madonna and Elton John have made amends after a notorious years-long feud that saw the two publicly trading barbs against each other since 2004.

via: EW

After a bitter, decades-long, and largely one-sided feud, the Queen of Pop announced in a Monday Instagram post that she has "Finally Buried the Hatchet!!!" with the Rocket Man. "I went to see [Elton John] perform on [Saturday Night Live] this weekend!! WOW," she wrote in the caption of a sweet image of the pair embracing.

After detailing the ways in which John's trailblazing career inspired her to embark upon her own, Madonna admitted that, "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." The pop legend "decided to go" to SNL because she felt she "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."

By the time Madonna released her breakthrough self-titled debut album in 1983, the British pianist and singer/songwriter had already put out 17 studio albums, played the biggest stadiums in the world, and received 14 Grammy nominations. Coming of age in a small Michigan town and then striking out as a solo artist in New York City in the late 1970s, Madonna reflected on John's immeasurable impact on her early aspirations.

"I remembered when I was in high school - I snuck out of the house one night to see Elton perform live in Detroit," she wrote. "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."

Madonna shared that "within minutes" of their encounter backstage at SNL "we were hugging. Then he told me had written a song for me and he wanted to collaborate. It was like everything came full circle!!"

A representative for Madonna declined to comment further; a rep for John didn't immediately respond to request for comment.

Madonna and Elton John's public relationship goes back to at least 1995, when they were captured having some fun backstage at the BRIT Awards. But their seemingly playful bond soured in 2002, when John issued an unprovoked attack on "Die Another Day," Madonna's song for that year's James Bond film of the same name. Calling it the "worst Bond tune ever," John suggested that instead of Madonna, "they should have gone for somebody like Lulu and Shirley Bassey, or maybe I'm in that league?"

John then criticized Madonna's nomination for Best Live Act at the 2004 Q Awards, quipping, "Since when has lip-syncing been live?... Anyone who lip-syncs in public on stage when you pay 75 pounds to see them should be shot." The "Tiny Dancer" singer went on this way for years, referring to Madonna variously as a "f---ing fairground stripper" and a "miserable cow," with the pop star occasionally responding through a publicist or offering a form of forgiveness after John sought an apology.

Madonna and Elton John at Carnegie Hall in 1998. Credit: Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty

Both Madonna and Elton John have appeared on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show numerous times over the course of their storied careers. But never on the same night and certainly never embracing in a pose of mutual forgiveness.

Though John has apologized in the past only to sling another zinger at the "Like A Virgin" singer, he concurred with Madonna's heartfelt caption sentiments with his own Instagram story share of the post, over which he wrote, "A healing moment, [Madonna]."