“What in the faggotry are you talking about?”
– Gayle King quotes a Matteo Lane joke to his face.  While many people
have their panties in a bunch over Gayle’s use of the word “faggotry”,
Matteo gets the last word.  “I love you Gayle King”.

Détente.  That was the word Patti LuPone used when she reunited with Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber at the 2018 Grammys.  Maybe it’s something about New York City, because another notable détente just took place there – this one between Sir Elton John and Madonna.  First, a bit of history.  The twosome has traded barbs as far back as 2004, when Elton made an acceptance speech at the Q Awards and dogged Madge’s nomination.  “Madonna?  Best fucking live act?  Fuck off.  Since when has lip-syncing been live?”  And that was him being nice!!  An amusing exchange took place at the 2012 Golden Globes.  Each had a song nominated in the same category.  On the red carpet, Elton said Madonna didn’t “stand a fucking chance.”  And then she won!  Oh, the ignominy.

As to the resolution, it’s Madonna who took the high road.  When she heard Miss Elton was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live last week, she decided to go.  “I needed to go backstage and confront him.  When I met him, the first thing out of his mouth was, ‘Forgive Me’, and the wall between us fell down.  Forgiveness is a powerful tool.  Within minutes, we were hugging.  Then he told me had written a song for me and he wanted to collaborate.  It was like everything came full circle.”  She captured the moment with a photo and posted it on Instagram with the caption, “We finally buried the hatchet”.  She looks good and kinda normal – Elton looks less than thrilled.  But he reposted the photo and called it a “healing moment”.  To be continued…

Of course, it’s entirely possible that Elton had no idea who he was talking to backstage at SNL.  He recently spoke about his diminishing eyesight: “I can’t see my boys playing rugby and soccer, and it has been a very stressful time because I’m used to soaking it all in.  It’s distressing.  You get emotional, but you have to get used to it because I’m lucky to have the life I have.  I still have my wonderful family, and I can still see something out of my left eye.”  On the other hand, it should be noted that Madonna was standing on his left.

Last year, Elton John revealed some staggering statistics about the Elton John AIDS Foundation.  “Since our founding in 1992, we have saved over 5 million lives and raised more than $600 million to support over 3100 projects in 95 countries globally to end AIDS.”  One of those countries will no longer be Russia.  The Russian general prosecutor has called the nonprofit “undesirable” and accused it of attempting to undermine Russian “spiritual and moral values with propaganda.”  The organization was quick to respond: “In 2024, there were over 1.2 million people living with HIV in Russia, with over 430,000 not receiving treatment.  Today’s decision…will undoubtedly endanger lives and disrupt critical HIV prevention efforts.”