Madonna & Elton John Bury the Hatchet After Long Feud

The war between pop icons Madonna and Elton John is over!

After many years of Elton publicly attacking Madonna, the Queen of Pop took the initiative and showed up at "Saturday Night Live" to confront Sir Elton — walking away with an apology and a song!

"We Finally Buried the Hatchet!!!" Madonna exuberantly began her Instagram post, decorated with a warm photo of the two taken backstage at "SNL."

"I went to see Elton John 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 traveled by. In fact, it was essential," Madonna wrote, telling a story similar to one she has often told of David Bowie, another inspiration.

Going on, she revealed, "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."

Even more unexpected than the truce was the sudden possibility of a collab! "Then he told me had written a song for me and he wanted to collaborate. It was like everything came full circle!!  And you can tell everybody , This is Your Song……….💙🩵🩶🤍"

We'll have to see if Madonna X Elton John comes to fruition, but neither has been shy about teaming up on singles, Madonna with everyone from Maluma to Britney Spears and Elton with everyone from Brandi Carlile to, well, Britney Spears!

All the way back to 2002, Elton out of nowhere lambasted Madonna's hit single "Die Another Day" as the "worst Bond tune ever."

Elton next trashed Madonna at the Q Awards in the U.K. when she won an award for Best Live Act. "F*ck off!" he sputtered, collecting his own award. "Since when has lip-synching been live? Sorry about that, but I think everyone who lip-synchs in public onstage when you pay like 75 quid to see them should be shot."

He went on, "That's me off her f**king Christmas card list, but do I give a toss? No."

Ahead of her 2012 Super Bowl Halftime performance, he said his advice was, "Make sure you lip-synch good."

That same year, he called Madonna a "fairground stripper" and declared her career to be over, though he later apologized, claiming he hadn't realized those remarks were on the record.

It didn't help that Madonna's "Masterpiece" from her film "W.E." won the Golden Globe over Elton's work, even after Elton had confidently sniped, "Madonna hasn't got a f**king chance."

Madonna, told of Elton's prediction, had laughed and said, "May the best man win."

For all the ill will from Elton and his husband David Furnish, Madonna has never responded in kind to them. In fact, in 2019, she shared a video of her son David Banda covering Elton's "Your Song."

The ice began to thaw by 2023, when Madonna's Celebration tour performance of her no. 1 hit "Live to Tell" was conceived as a tribute to the countless people who have lost their lives to AIDS. In response, Elton posted, "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.”