Madonna Gives Lady Gaga Bashing for 'Born This Way' Similarities (Photos)
Madonna has spoken out against Lady Gaga’s smash single “Born This Way,” which has been widely rumored since its release to have been a knock off from Madonna’s 1989 hit “Express Yourself.”
Speaking to ABS News’ 20/20, which aired Friday night, Madonna said, “I certainly think she references me a lot in her work. And sometimes I think it’s amusing and flattering and well done.”
However, she quickly added, “When I heard [‘Born This Way’] on the radio, I said, ‘that sounds very familiar.’ It feels reductive.”
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ABC interviewer Cynthia McFadden then asked whether that was a good thing, to which Madonna smirked, sipped her tea and then said, “Look it up.”
What Madonna meant by her “reductive” comment, was that Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” was a simplified or crude version of her own work.
The comments will come as a stinging attack on Gaga, who has herself testified to being Madonna’s “hugest fan personally and professionally.”
Lady Gaga has in the past spoken out against rumors of any similarities between her song and Madonna’s, saying, “I will look in your eyes and tell you that I'm not dumb enough or moronic enough to think that you are dumb or moronic enough not to see that I would have stolen a melody,” in an interview with NME magazine.
She added: “If you put the songs next to each other, side by side, the only similarities are the chord progression.”
Madonna did admit that Lady Gaga was a “very talented artist,” and admired her songwriting skills.
It has also been reported that Madonna has been interviewed by Newsweek, where she clearly indicates her thoughts that Lady Gaga’s song was just a re-hash of her own work. She explained that “Born This Way” was a “wonderful way to redo my song.”
“I mean, I recognized the chord changes. I thought it was…interesting,” she reportedly adds in the Newsweek interview.
