Madonna and Lady Gaga are pop icons with much in common. However, those similarities have caused some to spark rumors of a "feud" between the two of them.
These rumors were recently brought back from the dead when Madonna posted a video on her Insta Story. In recent months, people began to notice Gaga would say the same "100 people in a room" line in almost every interview she gave while promoting "A Star Is Born." It turned into a funny meme on social media. The video Madonna posted was from an interview she gave in 1989 where she said something very similar. Fans of Madonna have been sharing this video implying that Gaga stole the quote from Madonna.
This instantly provoked an onslaught of attacks against Madonna. People were writing articles and commenting on social media as if she were the worst person on the planet. The sad part is, I think Madonna was entirely innocent. She reposted a video to her Insta Story that was previously posted by her friend Giovanni Bianco (he's done the art direction for her last two albums). I doubt very much that she knew the context of why the clip was being shared. She probably just thought he was giving her a shout-out and wanted to respond.
When this became a big news story, Madonna quickly deleted the video. Yet, people continued to overreact. Even if Madonna knew the context of the video and wanted to call Gaga out for copying her, the reactions still would've been over the top. It seems like Madonna is portrayed as an evil person by the media, even though other stars have done the same thing. Aretha Franklin blatantly threw shade at Nicki Minaj in an interview and nobody batted an eyelash. Mariah Carey throws shade left and right without fandoms losing their collective minds. Why is Madonna held to such a high standard?
Madonna has been at the top of her game for over thirty years. She's no doubt an icon, legend, and music royalty. She's also responsible for the slew of female artists openly embracing their gay fans. When Madonna was popular, this wasn't the thing to do. Judy Garland, one of the biggest gay icons of all time, denied she even had gay fans at one point. The LGBTQ community owes a great deal of respect to Madonna for speaking up and bringing us to the forefront of mainstream popular culture.
When Lady Gaga stepped onto the scene, she and Madonna both had mutual respect for one another. They would attend each other's concerts and speak highly about one another in interviews. However, a lot of people saw similarities between the two singers. Gaga is also an Italian Catholic girl who got her start in New York City. She also makes dance pop records. She also likes to be provocative and theatrical, much like the Queen of Pop.
There's also Gaga's very open embrace of the LGBTQ community. She has been a strong activist for gay rights. She's spoken about repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. She's talked about bullying and suicide awareness. To many, this is reminiscent of Madonna's open advocacy for AIDS research in the eighties. That isn't to say Gaga's activism is insincere. Quite the contrary, it's highly commendable. But it did her no favors if she were getting tired of the Madonna comparisons. It seemed as though both artists were serving as voices for the gay community of their own generations.
Up until the release of Gaga's "Born This Way" single, the comparisons were all fun and games. But when many began criticizing the song for sounding too much like Madonna's "Express Yourself," things took a turn. First, Gaga tried to claim she received an email from Madonna and her team supporting the song. Madonna's publicist claimed to have no knowledge of such an email. Then, she became emotional and defensive during an interview with NME.
"I am not stupid enough to put a record out and be that moronic," she told the magazine. "Why would I try to put a song out and think I'm getting one over on everybody? That's retarded."
This led to Gaga apologizing for using the word "retarded." On one hand, I understand Gaga's frustration with this issue. When you have an ego big enough to be the star she is, you want people to give you credit. You don't want to constantly hear people talk about the way your work is similar to that of another artist. On the other hand, I think the two songs do sound a lot more similar than she is willing to admit.
The following year, Madonna returned to the public eye with a film she directed ("W.E.") and a new album ("MDNA"). In promotional interviews, Madonna was asked about "Born This Way" and whether she thought it sounded like "Express Yourself." Madonna confirmed she did think the two songs sounded alike, but the infamous moment came when she referred to Gaga's song as "reductive" in an interview with ABC News.
Madonna also performed a medley of "Express Yourself" and "Born This Way" on her MDNA Tour. The performance ended with Madonna singing the line from her song, "She's Not Me." While many interpreted this as an insult, I tend to think this was more of a playful poke than an outright attack. This seemed to be confirmed later that year when it was revealed that Madonna had invited Gaga to perform with her during one of the shows. Unfortunately, it didn't happen because Gaga was on her own tour at the time. A lot of people miss the irony in Madonna's work and she often does things with a sense of humor.
However, this was lost on most people. A lot of people in Gaga's inner circle openly trashed Madonna, either online or in the press. Elton John was the most famous example, calling Madonna "a f***ing fairground stripper." Many of Gaga's fans followed suit. I think Lady Gaga tried to manipulate the public in a way that she felt shielded her from any criticism. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, she seemed to reinterpret the backlash as criticism of the subject matter rather than the similarities to Madonna's song. As far as I'm concerned, this is a big reason why so many paint Madonna as a "bully" in this "feud" with Gaga.
The truth is, all Madonna did was criticize a song. She didn't personally attack Lady Gaga. In fact, during the ABC News interview, she was very complimentary of Lady Gaga. Her only issue was with that one song. If you're going to release your work to the public, you need to accept that there will be criticism. If you don't want to be criticized, then keep your music to yourself. If people criticize your work, it doesn't make them a hateful person.
Madonna spoke to Rolling Stone magazine in 2015 and attempted to clear up the Lady Gaga rumors. "The only time I ever criticized Lady Gaga was when I felt like she blatantly ripped off one of my songs," she said. "It's got nothing to do with 'she's taking my crown' or 'she's in some space of mine.' She has her thing. I do think she's a very talented singer and songwriter. It was just that one issue."
The two were photographed together at the Met Gala later that year with Katy Perry. Gaga and Perry have their own history when it comes to feud rumors. In 2014, Gaga tweeted, "It looks like green hair and mechanical horses are the thing now." This was implying that Perry copied Gaga on her tour during that time. This further proves how the media is unfairly biased against Madonna. Lady Gaga herself did the same thing they're accusing Madonna of in a more blatant way. Yet, Lady Gaga was given a pass and this was treated as nothing more than juicy gossip.
Not to mention that Lady Gaga thew a passive aggressive jab at Madonna during a radio interview. While promoting her album "Joanne," Gaga implied that Madonna doesn't write songs or play instruments. She also brought Madonna up voluntarily during her documentary, "Five Foot Two." In the scene, Gaga paints Madonna as weak for not confronting her about the "Born This Way" criticism.
The reason I'm bringing this up is not to "expose" Lady Gaga. I really think the cancel culture has gone way too far. I've actually been a fan of Lady Gaga since "The Fame" was released ten years ago. I also think she's a good actress and deserves every award for "A Star Is Born." I'm merely pointing out that Lady Gaga is no better than Madonna in this situation. Therefore, it's unfair when Lady Gaga is treated like a saint when they talk about Madonna as if she's the spawn of Satan.
In a weird way, this media scrutiny could be a big compliment to Madonna. If Madonna didn't mean so much to people, they wouldn't get so worked up over the things she does. I do find it quite sad, however, the way history keeps repeating itself. People like Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse, and Whitney Houston were all mocked by the media during their lifetime. Then, when they died, the tone changed and they were praised by the same media.
I hope it doesn't take Madonna's death for people to start appreciating her. She's a living legend and deserves to feel that respect while she's still here. Madonna herself said there's a new album coming in 2019, so what better time to start than right now?
