Elton John takes swipe at Madonna

updated 5:50 p.m. ET Oct. 5, 2004

LONDON - It seems Elton John isn’t a Madonna fan.

Taking the stage at a music awards show Monday, John accused the queen of pop of lip-synching and said he was astonished that she had been nominated for best live act.

“Since when has lip-synching been live?” he said. “Anyone who lip-syncs in public onstage when you pay 75 pounds ($134) to see them should be shot.”

“That’s me off her ... Christmas card list,” he added. “But do I give a toss? No.”

Madonna’s spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, rejected John’s allegations.

“Madonna does not lip-sync nor does she spend her time trashing other artists,” Rosenberg said in a statement. “She sang every note of her Re-Invention tour live and is not ashamed that she was well paid for her hard work.”

John, 57, was receiving a songwriting award at the Q awards, sponsored by a British music magazine.

Madonna, whose Re-Invention world tour stopped in Britain in August, didn’t win the best live act award. It went to British band Muse.

Last month John made headlines in Taipei, Taiwan, by telling photographers they were “rude, vile pigs.”

Rosenberg indicated Madonna wasn’t taking John’s remarks too seriously.

“Elton John remains on her Christmas card list whether he is nice ... or naughty,” she said.

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