A friend of Madonna's is reported to have said that the pop superstar "doesn't care" what Sir Elton John thinks about her career.
The queen of pop never comments on such matters personally, but The Huffington Post has quoted a source within Madge's camp as saying that she has "nothing to prove".
We told you on Monday how Sir Elton had savaged Madonna's new tour and [uuid=75895430-bef4-442b-9ac2-ef219617e08f]claimed her career was "over"[/uuid].
His bile appeared to be [uuid=eba7cd98-6b36-4fbb-af88-2d8cfb2bce3a]prompted by her attitude[/uuid] towards Lady GaGa - who "borrowed" the melody from Madge's Express Yourself for her own Born This Way.
The HuffPo's source said: "I honestly do not understand his need to trash the crap out of her over and over again. He says she has no authority, but apparently he has authority?
"He needs to hate on her. To say her tour is a disaster is just silly. She is selling out arenas, singing new material and a few classic hits. He will be singing the same old songs until he dies.
"Ultimately, she doesn't care what he has to say about her in public or private. She has nothing to prove to anyone, especially Elton John."