Over the course of her decades-long superstar career, Madonna has earned a formidable reputation for her fierce feuds with her pop peers.
She competed with the likes of Cher, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey, among others.
But even die-hard Madonna fans may have missed the Queen Of Pop’s catfight with the Queen Of Motown – Diana Ross herself.
On the surface, the two singers appear to be birds of the same mold, with their shared roots in Michigan and their shared experience of stratospheric fame.
However, will now lift the curtain on their sensitive matter, which stems from the incident which Diana vowed she “will not forget”…
Clash of the Titans: Even die-hard Madonna fans may have missed the catfight between the Queen of Pop and the Queen of Motown – Diana Ross herself
Both women grew up in the Detroit area, Madonna in the suburbs of Pontiac and Rochester Hills and Diana in the city, including a few years in the projects.
As a child in the 1960s and 1970s, Madonna was fascinated by the Motown music scene that emerged from Detroit and swept the world.
The reigning female star of Motown was Diana as queen bee of the hugely popular girl group The Supremes.
In an interview early in her career, Madonna cited Motown as an influence on her own work, adding, “Diana Ross was a really big inspiration to me.”
In the 1990s, Madonna was a megastar – but it was Diana who was named the “most successful female artist of all time” by the Guinness Book of Records.
When Diana appeared on TFI on Friday in 1999, host Chris Evans brought up her Guinness Award and joked, “I bet Madonna hates you, doesn’t she?”
“No, I—” said Diana, bursting out laughing and admitting, “Maybe!” Then she added that she knew Madge personally.
Chris gushed that Madonna was just a flash in the pan next to Diana, and Diana replied diplomatically: “No, she’s already been around. ‘She’s got some legs, yeah?’
Back as a brunette: As a child growing up in suburban Detroit, Madonna – pictured at her high school in Rochester Hills – loved Motown
Trio: Reigning Motown star Diana (left) as Queen Bee of The Supremes; She is pictured with her Supremes colleagues Mary Wilson (center) and Florence Ballard (right).
Let it out: In 2003, Diana offered an unfiltered – and rather negative – view of Madonna on the BBC from Graham Norton’s couch
Oops: Graham asked if she was a “fan” of Madonna, and noticing Diana’s visible discomfort and long pause, he chuckled: “I don’t feel it.”
Four years later, Diana offered a more unfiltered – and rather negative – look at Madonna from Graham Norton’s couch.
Graham asked if she was a “fan” of Madonna, and noticing Diana’s visible discomfort and long pause, he chuckled: “I don’t feel it.”
“Well, my kids went up to her and asked her for an autograph, and she wasn’t nice,” Diana said. “And I won’t forget it. That’s it. That’s how I feel about it.”
Diana, who has herself been accused of terrible diva behavior over the years, said Madonna “wasn’t nice” to Diana’s children, “and I’m nice to everyone, you know, and I just feel like she was.” “Could have been nice, but she wasn’t.”
About a decade later, however, Madonna seemed to have a warm, nostalgic view of her past encounters with Diana.
In 2015, she released a flashback of herself in the early 1980s with Diana, Nile Rogers and Madonna’s then-boyfriend John “Jellybean” Benitez.
“Nile Rodgers, Diana Ross, Jellybean and I are wearing a Keith Haring skirt.” Painted for me! It doesn’t get much better!’ Madonna wrote with a heart emoji.