When Madonna and Lady Gaga took jabs at each other

In their yo-yoing battle for spotlight, both Madonna and Lady Gaga have had their moments. The latest: Lady M replacing Gaga as Versace’s brand ambassador this month. A look at the duo’s passive aggressive jabs at each other:

CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Things are hunky dory between the two at first. In 2009, the two even make an appearance on Saturday Night Live where they play the comparisons between them for laughs.

THE FIRST PUNCH

In 2011, when Madonna is quizzed about Gaga’s imitation of her by the media, she replies, “I have no comment on her obsessions related to me, because I do not know if it is based on something profound or superficial.”

RAINING BLOWS

In 2012, Madge reacts to comparisons between her iconic number ‘Express Yourself’ and Gaga’s song ‘Born This Way’ calling the latter “reductive”. She elaborated, “When I heard it on the radio …I said that sounds very familiar.” She later drives the knife in further by jamming to a mash-up of the two numbers on stage.

THE PUSHBACK

Gaga reacts during a concert the same year by flashing her thong, a la her idol M, and yelling at the crowd, “I don’t give a f*** what people say.” In 2013, she gives a sober assessment of Madonna’s shenanigans. “The fact that I was on her mind at all. I mean, ... she’s Madonna. I looked up to her for a long time. I’m not quite sure what her intention was, to do that in the show, but I don’t really care.”

BATTLE BREWS ON

Madonna says Gaga rejected her olive branch. “You know, I invited her onstage to sing with me. But, she turned me down. It’s okay. I’ve been rejected before, ” she recounts during a World Tour in 2012.

Gaga comments on their equation in 2013: “There’s this thing with some people that I’m a threat to the throne. I don’t want your throne, no thanks, I have my own.”

ADDING FUEL

In August this year, new music from Madonna leaks. The track called ‘Two Steps Behind Me’ appears to be about her rival with lyrics that go, “You’re a copycat, Where is my royalty? You’re a pretty girl, I’ll give you that. But stealing my recipe, it’s an ugly look.”

In October, Gaga responds to a question about her favourite artists, by saying, “I would like to say Madonna. But... if I was an established artist, I would love to help younger artists.”.