Madonna opens up about her equation with Lady Gaga, says 'we were never enemies'

American singer-songwriter Madonna opened up about her equation with Lady Gaga and said they "were never enemies", following years of a reported feud between the two. The 60-year-old pop star reflected upon her relationship with her fellow singer in an interview for British Vogue's June 2019 issue as cited by E! News.

The drama between the two stars is said to have started after Gaga released her 2011 single 'Born This Way', which drew comparisons to Madonna's 1989 hit 'Express Yourself'. Over the years, the duo has often been asked about the issue and about their feelings towards each another. Madonna has repeatedly refuted the feud rumours and often slammed people's tendency to pit two women, notably famous women, against each other.

"People got very excited about [the thought of Lady Gaga and me as] enemies, when we never were enemies," Madonna said in the latest interview to British Vogue as cited by E! News. Past February, any reported drama between the two singers appeared to have ended, as the two united after the Oscars.

While Gaga has said that she is a fan of Madonna, the latter said in the interview, "There are no living role models for me. Because nobody does what I do. And that's kind of scary. I can look back at women who I think were great and amazing -- freedom fighters, like Simone de Beauvoir Angela Davis -- but they didn't have kids." Opening up about being a single parent, she said, "Being a single parent of six children, I continue to be creative and be an artist and be politically active, to have a voice, to do all the things that I do. So I mean, there isn't anybody in my position."

Madonna has daughters Lourdes (22), Mercy (13) and twins Stella and Estere (6) and sons Rocco (18) and David (13), reported Fox News. One thing she's watching out for with her children is the use of social media. She doesn't allow her younger son, David, to have a phone yet because her older kids "became too inundated with imagery and started to compare themselves to other people, and that's really bad for self-growth".

The singer wants her kids to be successful and innovative on their own, not because they're the children of someone famous. The pop icon launched her music career in the early 80s. She will release her 14th studio album titled 'Madame X' in June, this year, but even at this stage in her celebrated career, she is still facing backlash.

In fact, Madonna believes that she is "being punished for turning 60." "People have always been trying to silence me for one reason or another, whether it's that I'm not pretty enough, I don't sing well enough, I'm not talented enough, I'm not married enough, and now it's that I'm not young enough. So they just keep trying to find a hook to hang their beef about me being alive. Now I'm fighting ageism," she revealed in the interview.

However, Madonna refuses to be pinned down. On Friday, she released her new single 'I Rise', an empowering ballad from her upcoming studio album 'Madame X', which drops on June 14.

(With inputs from agencies.)