Lady Gaga reaches out to Madonna following Billboard speech

Madonna’s speech at the Billboard Women in Music event prompted Lady Gaga to send a heartfelt message.

Madonna, 58, was named “Woman of the Year” at Billboard’s Women in Music 2016 event. Her speech was bold, brazen and truly befitting of the controversial superstar.

“Thank you for acknowledging my ability to continue my career for 34 years in the face of blank misogyny, sexism, constant bullying and relentless abuse. In the first year [in New York City], I was held up at gunpoint, raped on a rooftop with a knife digging into my throat, and I had my apartment broken into so many times, I just stopped locking the door.”

Her honesty and bravery on stage compelled Lady Gaga to tweet:

@Madonna your speech at the Billboard Music Awards was inspiring. You're so brave & strong. Thanks for being that for us girls we need that.

— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) December 12, 2016

Both Gaga and Madonna are passionate about women’s rights but haven’t always seen eye to eye. After being compared to Madge in an interview, Mother Monster made it very clear that she’s not a fan of the comparisons and considers her work to be vastly different than Madonna’s.

“I don’t mean to disrespect Madonna, she’s a nice lady, and she’s had a fantastic huge career, biggest pop star of all time. But I play a lot of instruments. I write all my own music. I spend hours and hours a day in the studio. I’m a producer. I’m a writer. What I do is different.”