'Madonna is a great artist and we wish her the best': David Furnish backtracks after branding Elton John's Golden Globe rival 'desperate' and 'embarrassing'

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 5:34 PM on 20th January 2012

David Furnish has spoken out about slamming Madonna after she won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song over Elton John.

Furnish took to his Facebook page to say that Madonna is a 'great artist' and that his passion for Elton's film merely 'got his emotional juices flowing'.

Madonna's single Masterpiece, from her directorial debut W.E., triumphed over Elton John's 'Hello, Hello' from Gnomeo & Juliet and Mary J. Blige's song Living Proof from The Help.

'Wow! What a tempest in a teapot. My comments regarding The Golden Globes have been blown way out of proportion,' Furnish wrote on his Facebook page Thursday.

'My passion for our film Gnomeo & Juliet and belief in Elton's song really got my emotional juices going,' he said.

'But I must say for the record that I do believe Madonna is a great artist, and that Elton and I wish her all the best for next week's premiere of the film W.E.'

Furnish had previously ranted that Madonna's acceptance speech was 'narcissistic' and that she was 'desperate' for criticizing Lady Gaga.

He furiously wrote on Facebook after her win: 'Madonna. Best song???? F**k off!!!'

However Furnish has not said that he is sorry.

Tensions were running high even before the awards ceremony with Elton saying on the red carpet that Madge didn't have a 'f****ing chance' of winning the Best Original Song gong.

She went on to win it and shortly after Furnish vented his frustration on his social networking page.

When asked about Elton's comments in the press room of the Golden Globes, Madonna was quick to fire back.

She said: 'Was he wearing a dress? Damn him, those are fighting words. OK, well may the best man win.'

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Reductive IMO...

Such queenliness.

Need I remind you that this was after he had this heated exchange with Madonna's producer William Orbit, who didn't lose his temper as much as David did:

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William's final comment to him was on point.

The media backlash apparently got to David (and Elton).

Elton John, as much as I admire him, has had a beef with Madonna for years. I do not understand it. I think his husband's comments were totally out of line and uncalled for. But hey, that's my opinion.

thesoulbrother said:

Elton John, as much as I admire him, has had a beef with Madonna for years. I do not understand it. I think his husband's comments were totally out of line and uncalled for. But hey, that's my opinion.

It was indeed immature. I love his music still (Elton's) but I wouldn't wanna hang out with him or his "husband"/boytoy/whatchamacallit...

This David Furnish dude seems retarded. How is criticizing Gaga desperate? I never knew giving an opinion could be desperate.

He's just jealous. It's obvious. He's married to a troll who's as homely as a mud fence. Not to mention the dried out rug glued to his bald ass scalp. Elton's personality leaves a lot to be desired and I bet he has a small penis too.

MidniteMagnet said:

This David Furnish dude seems retarded. How is criticizing Gaga desperate? I never knew giving an opinion could be desperate.

He's just jealous. It's obvious. He's married to a troll who's as homely as a mud fence. Not to mention the dried out rug glued to his bald ass scalp. Elton's personality leaves a lot to be desired and I bet he has a small penis too.

Madonna even said Lady Gaga was talented. So I don't know why David (and her producer) was tripping on that. Talk about total embarassment. When her producer (Gaga's) went on Twitter like an idiot bringing up about age (he obviously meant Madonna) and got attacked for it (rightfully) he also backtracked saying he respected Madonna.

Please...

Should've learned from Janet: "If you ain't got nothing nice to say, don't say it at all." Reductive IMO like I said.

the funniest part of everything David and Elton said about Madonna, her song, her film... is that it applies equally to Elton, his song, and his film.

errant said:

the funniest part of everything David and Elton said about Madonna, her song, her film... is that it applies equally to Elton, his song, and his film.

Even more so because Elton's song blows chunks.

Timmy84 said:

errant said:

the funniest part of everything David and Elton said about Madonna, her song, her film... is that it applies equally to Elton, his song, and his film.

Even more so because Elton's song blows chunks.

as a fan of Madonna, and particularly a fan of Madonna as lyricist, so does hers.

errant said:

Timmy84 said:

Even more so because Elton's song blows chunks.

as a fan of Madonna, and particularly a fan of Madonna as lyricist, so does hers.

It did seem subpar compared to Madonna's previous work and I preferred Mary's song over hers to win but it still has some charm to it to me.

That officially seals it--David Furnish is a bitter drama queen married to an insecure aging music star still chasing after token accolades to feel relevant. Doesn't Elton have enough awards already?!!

purplethunder3121 said:

That officially seals it--David Furnish is a bitter drama queen married to an insecure aging music star still chasing after token accolades to feel relevant. Doesn't Elton have enough awards already?!!

Exactly.

[Edited 1/20/12 11:12am]

Once an asshole, always an asshole!

LOL, stupid ''I'm sorry Madonna'' just no.

He shouldn't have backtracked.

lazycrockett said:

He shouldn't have backtracked.

That's a celebrity trait. Still makes him an asshole though.

[Edited 1/20/12 11:41am]

Timmy84 said:

lazycrockett said:

He shouldn't have backtracked.

That's a celebrity trait. Still makes him an asshole though.

[Edited 1/20/12 11:41am]

Which makes it all that more of just a lame PR stunt on both sides.

Timmy84 said:

errant said:

as a fan of Madonna, and particularly a fan of Madonna as lyricist, so does hers.

It did seem subpar compared to Madonna's previous work and I preferred Mary's song over hers to win but it still has some charm to it to me.

Nah... that Madonna song is really just okay... She even has better songs than that Masterpiece song.

If you ask me its rather ignorant on Eltons part... if you know the awards are bullshit whats the point in getting mad??.. would it make the awards more relevant if you win it Elton? Come on man... : /

AND then got the nerve to back track.... a mess.

I Don't get in when stars like Elton whine about thing's like this/:

The man has more top 40 hits then well any other artist, he has multi platinum albums, tons of grammies, an oscar, a golden globe & a Tony to i believe!

Why be so selfish?? how many damn awards do you need

It's like when he got mad his album was not promotoed right, damn Elton you have over 50 top 40 hits is it going to kill you if you never have another?

What a spineless jerk! If he feels that Madonna's song is crap, then he should stick with it. And if not, he shouldn't even have brought it up in the first place.

What did she say about Gaga?

KoolEaze said:

What did she say about Gaga?

That she was talented and she heard a bit of "Express Yourself" on "Born This Way" but criticized the comparison between them as reductive. That's where the (unneeded) venom came from.

So really Madonna has been quiet this whole time that Elton (and David) have said their bullshit.

[Edited 1/20/12 16:07pm]

Sir Elton and Madonna should sign up here and join the frenzy they'd fit in.

Seriously, both artist ships have sailed and another generation have their John's and Madonna's, there's not very much they can do about it but try to be graceful. The operative word here is, try.

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[Edited 1/20/12 15:40pm]

I really don't think Madonna said that Gaga was 'reductive' but that the comparison between her and Gaga was. There's obvious mutual respect.

mynameisnotsusan said:

I really don't think Madonna said that Gaga was 'reductive' but that the comparison between her and Gaga was. There's obvious mutual respect.

Yeah that's it...

Timmy84 said:

thesoulbrother said:

Elton John, as much as I admire him, has had a beef with Madonna for years. I do not understand it. I think his husband's comments were totally out of line and uncalled for. But hey, that's my opinion.

It was indeed immature. I love his music still (Elton's) but I wouldn't wanna hang out with him or his "husband"/boytoy/whatchamacallit...

the thing is that ELTON is like alot on this forum, he listens to everything, i mean i saw this guy in his documentary literally buy every single cd on a new release tuesday and he did it every tuesday because he needed to know what was going on, Elton's comments about Madonna in the past were blown way out of context, the comment about her "not being a live act" was true, and her winning an award that says "best live act" is wrong, be it the wording of the award, but anyone on this forum that feels she performs songs live 100% keep smoking, his comments were on point, he clairified it wasnt disrespect to what she does, trust me Elton loves the woman, he loves LadyGaGa, but he like US have opinions on things like SINGING LIVE and NOT SINGING live, he said it was unfair to bands that play, and he was right on that, call her "best show" "best tour" but live act?

As for this debate it sounds more like an exchange between him and william orbit for the most, im guessing Orbit did something to someone in his circle, its a business thats how it goes.

^ I don't believe that at all... I wish Reggie WOULD post here...

lastdecember said:

Timmy84 said:

It was indeed immature. I love his music still (Elton's) but I wouldn't wanna hang out with him or his "husband"/boytoy/whatchamacallit...

the thing is that ELTON is like alot on this forum, he listens to everything, i mean i saw this guy in his documentary literally buy every single cd on a new release tuesday and he did it every tuesday because he needed to know what was going on, Elton's comments about Madonna in the past were blown way out of context, the comment about her "not being a live act" was true, and her winning an award that says "best live act" is wrong, be it the wording of the award, but anyone on this forum that feels she performs songs live 100% keep smoking, his comments were on point, he clairified it wasnt disrespect to what she does, trust me Elton loves the woman, he loves LadyGaGa, but he like US have opinions on things like SINGING LIVE and NOT SINGING live, he said it was unfair to bands that play, and he was right on that, call her "best show" "best tour" but live act?

As for this debate it sounds more like an exchange between him and william orbit for the most, im guessing Orbit did something to someone in his circle, its a business thats how it goes.

GREAT POST....

see and this is where Elton is right at but alot of people here wont admit it...

Very well said post lol

Alot of these quote on quote artists do not really give the real talk or real opinions on how these awards are given out and how the music industry functions. Elton has been in the game for a very long time so he knows what the deal is...

I think that how he handle this current situation though was a bit immature and then fucking back tracking come on now.

However, comments in the past such as what you posted clearly reveals a hidden truth about the music industry and how it operates... I agree... Madonna should not ever get an award for Best Live Act because she doest sing live and she isnt a "good" live singer their better.

Thats not being nasty or an egotistically old queen.

His clearly looking at all spectrums and just cutting through the bullshit and being honest. I think Elton exactly respects Madonna but think alot of her success is undeserving.. (which it is to an extent) Madonna isnt a music genius or innovative.. She doesnt deserve to be in the same sentence as MJ or Prince- (That YES he is right about) but artistic merit or not she IS a Pop Icon and is influential.