An old clip of Lady Gaga shading Madonna has resurfaced on Twitter on TikTok, and it has stans from both sides fighting for their lives.
The clip comes from a 2016 interview between Gaga and Beats 1 Radio host Zane Lowe, in which Gaga pushes back against a comparison between her and Madonna.
“Madonna and I are very different,” Gaga says in the video. “She’s a nice lady, and she’s had a fantastic huge career. She’s the biggest pop star of all time. But I play a lot of instruments. I write all my own music. I spend hours a day in the studio. I’m a producer. I’m a writer. What I do is different.”
“I just will not be compared to anyone anymore,” she concludes. “I am who the f*ck I am and this is me.”
The clip was reposted to TikTok this week with the caption, “SHOTS FIRED!!” Naturally, fans felt the need to defend their faves: TikTok was mostly on Gaga’s side, with commenters writing, “This isn’t shots fired. This is advocacy for her artistry,” “These aren’t shots, they’re facts,” and, “Like Prince talked about, there are entertainers and there are artists.”
Meanwhile several folks were pointing out the obvious: Madonna also does all the things Gaga listed, including playing instruments, writing music, and producing. Is one of them better than the other? That’s a matter of taste. But Gaga’s argument that she and Madonna do fundamentally different things doesn’t hold water.
mind you madonna literally does everything she listed JDNDNNXMDNDJD https://t.co/oD6nwQu4bN
— 436 ReTruths (@varcmus) April 19, 2023
One user pointed out that even Gaga’s one compliment to Madonna is inaccurate: “What’s wild about this is that Madonna plays instruments and wrote/produced almost all of her music, including some of the greatest pop songs and albums in the history of pop music,” they wrote. “She also is in fact NOT a nice lady.”
What’s wild about this is that Madonna plays instruments and wrote/produced almost all of her music, including some of the greatest pop songs and albums in the history of pop music. She also is in fact NOT a nice lady. https://t.co/NsYET5FEZs
— Sisa (@TheTitanBaddie) April 20, 2023
But others felt Gaga was justified in shutting down comparisons to Madonna, considering Madonna infamously came for Gaga’s music in a 2012 interview for Good Morning America. When the interviewer asked if the sonic similarity between Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and Gaga’s “Born This Way” bothered her, Madonna said, “It feels reductive.”
Knowing the history between the pop stars, Little Monsters swiftly swooped in to defend Gaga for standing her ground.
Still others are just amazed that Gaga and Madonna’s rivalry (or rather, the rivalry between their fans) has lasted for more than a decade. Every comment section related to the feud is full of insults fired from one side to the other and back again.
madonna vs lady gaga drama all over my tl and the calendar says it’s 2023… pic.twitter.com/VUhMU31ZWy
— Monster Reactions (@LMonsterReacts) April 20, 2023
the comments https://t.co/7SxctHZtCu pic.twitter.com/nXDeg3wTHY
— ً (@metaangeli) April 20, 2023
Is Gaga justified in wanting some distance from Madonna?
Is Madonna justified in seeing where she’s influenced Gaga?
And, most importantly, why do fandoms always feel the need to pit pop stars against each other?
Personally, we’ll keep streaming both.
Related*
Sandra Bernhard just got brutally honest about her former BFF Madonna
If there’s one thing Sandra is known for, it’s telling the truth.
Jim
A women of true talent vs a has been.
Any questions
smittoons
Yes, actually. Are you saying the “has been” in your take has no true talent? Follow-up question: how did she attain her level of fame and success without possessing true talent?
Matthew Rettenmund
Nobody has to like Madonna, but anyone who thinks Madonna has no talent 40 years in is just stupid.
ScottOnEarth
Gaga is 100% correct and Jude is 100% incorrect. Madonna (barely) plays guitar and does not write music. By her own admission, she does not read or write music and only plays with melodies. She relies on others to write the actual music for her songs. She often cowrites the lyrics but she absolutely does not have the musical ability that Gaga does. That being said, there really isn’t a rivalry between these two incredibly successful women – it’s the usual media bullshit that riles up fans. I’m sure Madonna loves the attention but I can understand why Gaga is irritated by the comparison. They’re both very talented and accomplished artists (to say the least) and can co-exist in the pop music world without being pitted against each other.
abfab
When Crawford died in 1977, Davis was quoted as saying, “You should never say bad things about the dead, only good… Joan Crawford is dead. Good.”
Bill
of course, the gay public is dying for there to be a feud between the 2 divas
davidpaul
If you have ever seen the viral video of Gaga playing classical piano and then segueing into a piano version of “Paparazzi,” you immediately know the difference. Like Andy Warhol, Madonna’s greatest talent is in selling herself. Whenever Madonna’s latest album or single flops, she puts our something trashy like the book “Sex” or the “Justify my love” video- she has relied on the “flash my boobs” shock factor and people just don’t care anymore. Watch “A Star is Born” and then “Desperately Seeking Susan.” It’s obvious why one of these women won an Oscar while the other one’s first major film should have been “Desperately Seeking Attention.”
Den
Madonna needs a huge stage show in order to be the entertainer she is. She absolutely needed engineering assistance and pre recorded tracks to make both her albums and live shows work. Gaga could bring the house down sitting at a piano doing pared down versions of her songs as well as standards from the American songbook, as well as mount a ridiculously over the top stage show. That is a huge and undeniable distinction.
As for whether Gaga could have gained personal control of her own career as quickly without Madonna having preceded her, the answer to that is probably no.
Troyfight
…@Den ….truth.
PhillyProud
This started with Madonna’s fragility. Truth be told, I always saw Madonna as an absolute talent. But, her talent wasn’t necessarily musical. Yeah, she has had a hand in writing some of the best pop in music history. I still listen to a lot of her stuff, a lot of which can be timeless. But, her talent has always been to provoke and tick people off, as well as co-write/work with some really big talent. Love her for that. But as a musician she has nothing on Gaga. Nothing. Gaga can sing opera. Madonna struggles to stay on key. Gaga can play the piano and sing. Madonna can pretend to strum a prop guitar while she’s performing. Gaga’s pop will go down in history as amazing, but it won’t be like Madonna’s that actually may have changed musical history. Gaga’s shown us she can really act… Madonna? Don’t get me wrong. Madonna’s no David Bowie. But, she is a force and has hard earned some serious respect.
I think the most incredibly irritating thing about all of this is how the typical patriarchy attempts to start a cat fight. Gaga should defend herself. But, why do they have to do this?
As someone else pointed out, without Madonna, there’d be no Gaga.
dbmcvey
I love both of them but Madonna’s “Express Yourself” borrowed from the Staple Singers “Respect Yourself” soooo…..
powersthatbe
Apples and oranges.