By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | February 6, 2024 |
By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | February 6, 2024 |
The year was 2012. Madonna sat down for an interview with ABC News’ Cynthia McFadden. She was there to talk about her new album MDNA, upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance, and W.E., that ill-fated biopic she directed about Wallis Simpson.
After Madonna got her plugs in, Cynthia asked the singer what she thought about Lady Gaga. Specifically, the similarities between her recent single, “Born This Way”, which some people thought sounded a lot like Madonna’s 1989 hit, “Express Yourself”. Madonna replied, “It feels, uh… reductive.” Cynthia asked, “Is that good?” To which Madonna responded, “Look it up.” Then she smiled and took a shadily-timed sip from her mug. Well then!
Back in the studio, Cynthia says she looked it up, and “reductive” means “simplified or crude.” So, not a compliment. Here’s a link to the “reductive” interview from 2012. The Lady Gaga part is around the 6:25 mark.
Obviously, Madonna’s comments went viral, and kicked off a so-called “feud” (Ryan Murphy, you know what to do!) between the two singers. In her Netflix doc Gaga: Five Foot Two, Gaga said:
By 2019, the pair appeared to have put their differences (err, musical similarities) behind them. After Gaga won her Oscar, Madonna posted this to Twitter:
Don’t Mess with Italian Girls……,,..,,,,,,,🖤 @ladygaga #winner #starisborn #oscar #theparty 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉@JRart pic.twitter.com/n5Gev7icqj
That brings us to today. Madonna is currently on her Celebration tour, and, last night, she performed in Pittsburgh. Entertainment Weekly reports that, before she began an acoustic rendition of “Express Yourself”, Madge noticed a fan-made sign that referenced her “reductive” comment. She allegedly joked, “You look it up, bitch!”
This isn’t the first time Madonna’s referenced her past beef with Gaga. Three weeks ago, when she mistakenly told her Toronto crowd, “Hello Boston!”, she apologized and joked, “That would be like if you guys were saying, ‘Hey, Lady Gaga’s playing tonight!’” She added, “Nothing against Gaga. Love her. I do! I love anyone who’s shorter than me.” HA! For the record, Madonna is 5’4”.