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If you were anywhere near social media over the weekend, you likely saw that Queen of Pop Madonna and rap star Cardi B had the internet at odds after a tiff between the two briefly erupted.
The two stars' respective fanbases were at all-out war over comments Madonna made on Instagram that some interpreted as a shady dig at Cardi B—including Cardi herself, a lifelong Madonna fan who has frequently cited her as an inspiration.
Never one to be taken to task, Cardi even posted a tweet calling out Madonna for her comments.
But thankfully, it seems to have all been a misunderstanding. Before long, Madonna, who has made being unapologetic an article of faith during her 40-year career, posted a very sweet mea culpa to Cardi.
You can see her Twitter post below.
\u201cI love you @iamcardib !! \u2665\ufe0f\nAlways have and always will.\u201d— Madonna (@Madonna) 1666549098
Madonna tweeted:
"I love you @iamcardib!! Always have and always will."
The flap all began with an Instagram Story Madonna posted Saturday marking the 30th anniversary of her wildly controversial coffee table book S.E.X., an exploration of sexuality via explicit prose and photographs that are provocative even by today's standards, let alone in 1992.
The book made Madonna a lightning rod for often virulently misogynistic media attacks, and the backlash helped make the album Madonna released alongside it, Erotica, her first to not hit #1 in the Billboard charts since her debut a decade earlier.
In her Story, Madonna noted that her embrace of sexuality in her work in a comparatively puritanical era paved the way for stars of today like Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus and Cardi B who have made sexual content central to their work and persona. She wrote:
“I spent the next few years [after S.E.X] being interviewed by narrow minded people who tried to shame me for empowering myself as a woman...
"Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP, Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked a** and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball."
"You’re welcome b*tches."
The wording, along with the clown emoji Madonna included with the final sentence, struck some as a dig at the stars she named, and Cardi B was not happy about it. In since-deleted tweets, she wrote:
“I literally [paid] this woman homage so many times cause I grew up listening to her… she can make her point without putting clown emojis and getting slick out the mouth...
“These icons really become disappointments once u make it in the industry that’s why I keep to myself.”
As the war between the two and their fanbases reached a fever pitch, CEO of Hollywood Unlocked Jason Lee tweeted he had gotten the two women onto a phone call together to hash it out.
\u201cOn the phone with Madonna and Cardi. Listening to both women share their perspective on the communication going on has broadened their love for each other. Love this [signed a fly on the wall] @iamcardib\u201d— Jason Lee (@Jason Lee) 1666545376
And before long, the women were taking to Twitter to share their love for one another. Just before Madonna posted her mea culpa, Cardi tweeted about the chat she had with her idol, which she called "beautiful."
\u201cI talked to Madonna \u2026It was beautiful \ud83e\udd72\u2026.Have a great day and drive safely yallll\ud83d\ude18\u201d— Cardi B (@Cardi B) 1666548069
On Twitter, many were thrilled to see the pop legend and one of her heirs apparent patch things up and share their mutual love and respect for each other.
\u201c@iamcardib & that\u2019s how a legend solve a problem BEHIND the scene. Have a good day cardi \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83c\udffe\u201d— Cardi B (@Cardi B) 1666548069
\u201c@Madonna you always take the high road and I love you for that so much.\u201d— Madonna (@Madonna) 1666549098
\u201c@Madonna @iamcardib knew it would be a happy ending\u2764\ufe0f\u201d— Madonna (@Madonna) 1666549098
\u201c@iamcardib I know I was right\u2026..\u201d— Cardi B (@Cardi B) 1666548069
\u201c@iamcardib \ud83d\udc4fqueens \ud83d\udc51\u201d— Cardi B (@Cardi B) 1666548069
\u201c@Madonna @iamcardib Always be the Queen Madonna...\n\nYou two are alike with taking things to heart and not wanting to feel unwanted or disrespected \n\nGlad you two talked and had the understanding you both needed \n\nI take things personally too when it comes to my personality or character\u201d— Madonna (@Madonna) 1666549098
\u201cThem \u201cMadonna about to blackball Cardi\u201d and \u201cCardi career is over\u201d tweets getting deleted as we speak \n\n\u201d— \ud83e\udd42\ud83e\udd42 (@\ud83e\udd42\ud83e\udd42) 1666549787
\u201c@PopCrave As grown women that they are \ud83d\udc4f\ud83c\udffe\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1666547875
\u201c@PopCrave We love to see maturity between two powerful women! \ud83d\udc96\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1666547875
\u201cMe listening to Madonna\u2019s music after I dragged her for Cardi B:\u201d— GUTTA SNIPE \ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb2 (@GUTTA SNIPE \ud83d\udc69\ud83c\udffd\u200d\ud83e\uddb2) 1666647311
\u201cBravo \ud83d\udc4f@iamcardib & @Madonna for having a 'beautiful talk' today and working out your feelings. \nRole models for all of us!\n\nCardi looks up to M, loves all her music, performs her songs, appreciate what she did, and respects her feminist views. \n\n#CardiB & #Madonna\ud83d\udc95 each other\u201d— MadonnaFan - \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83e\udd84\ud83c\udf08 (@MadonnaFan - \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83e\udd84\ud83c\udf08) 1666582024
Cardi B has frequently spoken of her lifelong fandom of Madonna and the impact she has had on her as an artist, calling the icon her "real life IDOL" in an Instagram post after the two met at an Oscars after-party Madonna hosted in 2018.