Madonna and Elton John End Their Feud at SNL After 20 Years of Tension

Image via Madonna / Instagram

Madonna and Elton John have officially put their decades-long feud behind them — and it all happened backstage at Saturday Night Live.

After years of public jabs and headline-making insults, the pop icons reunited this past weekend during Elton John’s appearance as musical guest on SNL alongside Brandi Carlile. Madonna, attending the taping with her boyfriend Akeem Morris, made the decision to confront John backstage — but instead of tension, the moment sparked forgiveness.

“When I met him, the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘Forgive me,’ and the wall between us fell down,” Madonna shared in a post on Instagram. “Forgiveness is a powerful tool. Within minutes, we were hugging.”

Madonna expressed that the feud had been painful over the years. “Over the decades it hurt me to know that someone I admired so much shared his dislike of me publicly as an artist,” she wrote.

Their falling out began in 2002 when John criticized Madonna’s Bond theme “Die Another Day,” calling it “the worst Bond tune ever.” The tension only escalated from there — including further digs at Madonna’s live performances, a canceled invitation to John's wedding events, and his husband David Furnish criticizing her on social media.

But now, it seems the feud has reached a peaceful conclusion. Madonna revealed that John even proposed a musical collaboration during their reconciliation.

“Then he told me he had written a song for me and he wanted to collaborate,” she said. “It was like everything came full circle.”

John echoed the sentiment in the comments of Madonna’s post, thanking her for her forgiveness and acknowledging his past behavior.

“I’m not proud of what I said,” he wrote. “Particularly when I think about all the groundbreaking work you have done as an artist — paving the way for an entire generation of female artists to succeed and be true to themselves.”

With the hatchet finally buried, fans may be witnessing a new era of unity — and possibly a historic duet — from two of pop music’s most enduring icons.