Do we have another diva cat fight brewing?
Madonna has remained uncharacteristically mum on near-universal charges that Lady Gaga ripped off her 1989 hit, “Express Yourself” with her self-described gay anthem “Born This Way,” which she performed at the MTV Video Music Awards last August.
Now, in an interview with Newsweek, Madonna breaks her silence.
“I thought, this is a wonderful way to redo my song (‘Express Yourself’). I mean, I recognized the chord changes. I thought it was…interesting.”
When Gaga’s single was released back in February, the similarities were so striking, “Express Yourself” became a trending topic on Twitter.
"Just listened to a clip of Lady Gaga 'Born This Way' and I gotta say...sounds a lot like 'Express Yourself' from Madonna," Chris Daughtry tweeted on Feb. 11. "OK. Good. A lotta peeps are saying the same thing so maybe I won't get raked over the coals:) I thought I was crazy for a second. And by the way...I'm not dogging it. Haven't even heard it all...that was just my first impress."
A fan posted a video to YouTube, comparing Madonna’s “Express Yourself” video to Gaga’s performance at the VMAs side by side. Several commenters noted that Gaga even wore a Madonna-like hairstyle in the video, “it's not a coincidence that gaga is compared to the queen of pop so much, more than other female artists in the past,” wrote one fan. “gaga follows madonna's steps. that's more than obvious. anyone can see it.”
Even Madonna’s brother, Chris Ciccone, weighed in on the controversy. "They should have noticed, somebody should have noticed that the songs are so remarkably alike," Ciccone told E! News. "They should have pulled it or at least said, 'Change it.' "I was like, '"Express Yourself," wow.' And it's not like it's a direct copy, but it's more like that song than any other song I've ever heard before.”
Gaga has yet to reply.