Madonna and Diana Ross’ feud REVEALED: What REALLY caused the falling-out between the Queens of Pop and Motown?

During decades of superstardom, Madonna has built a scorching reputation thanks to her fierce arguments with her pop peers.

She infamously locked swords with people like Cher, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, Janet Jackson And Mary Careyamong many, many others.

But even diehard Madonna fans may have missed the Queen Of Pop’s catfight with the Queen Of Motown – Diana Ross herself.

At first glance, the two singers seem like birds of a feather, with their shared roots in it Michigan and their shared experience of stratospheric fame.

But DailyMail.com will now pull back the curtain on their fraught comparison, which dates back to the incident that Diana vowed she ‘won’t forget’…

Clash of the Titans: Even diehard Madonna fans may have missed the Queen Of Pop’s catfight with the Queen Of Motown – Diana Ross herself

Both women grew up in the Detroit area, Madonna in the suburbs of Pontiac and Rochester Hills and Diana in the city, also in the projects for several years.

As a child in the 1960s and 1970s, Madonna was captivated by the Motown music scene that emerged from Detroit and swept the world.

The reigning female star in the Motown orbit was Diana, as queen bee of the thunderously popular girl group The Supremes.

During an interview early in her career, Madonna cited Motown as an influence on her own work, adding, “Diana Ross was a big inspiration for me.”

In the 1990s, Madonna was a megastar, but it was Diana who was named the ‘most successful female artist of all time’ in the Guinness Book Of World Records.

When Diana appeared on TFI Friday in 1999, host Chris Evans brought up her Guinness award and joked, “I bet Madonna hates you, doesn’t she?”

“No, I…” Diana said, bursting into laughter and confessing, “Maybe!” and added that she knew Madge personally.

Chris claimed Madonna was a “flash in the pan” next to Diana, who diplomatically objected: “No, she’s been there.” She has a pair of legs, yes?’

Back as a brunette: As a child growing up in the Detroit suburbs, Madonna – pictured at her high school in Rochester Hills – was entranced by Motown

Trio: Motown’s reigning female star Diana (left), as the queen bee of The Supremes; she is pictured with her fellow Supremes Mary Wilson (center) and Florence Ballard (right)

Let’s Get It Out: In 2003, Diana offered an unfiltered – and rather negative – take on Madonna from Graham Norton’s couch on the BBC

Oops: Graham asked if she was a ‘fan’ of Madonna and, looking at Diana’s visible discomfort and long pause, giggled: ‘I don’t feel so’

Four years later, Diana offered a more unfiltered – and rather more negative – view of Madonna from Graham Norton’s couch.

Graham asked if she was a “fan” of Madonna and, seeing Diana’s visible discomfort and long silence, giggled: “I don’t feel so.”

“Well, my kids went up to her and asked her for an autograph, and she wasn’t nice,” Diana said. ‘And I won’t forget it. So that’s it. That’s what I think about it.’

Diana, who has herself been accused of formidable diva behavior over the years, said Madonna “wasn’t nice” to Diana’s children “and I’m nice to everyone, you know, and I just feel like she could have been.” . nice, but she wasn’t.’

About a decade later, however, Madonna seemed to take a warmly nostalgic view of her earlier encounters with Diana.

In 2015, she posted a throwback photo of herself in the early 1980s with Diana, Nile Rogers and Madonna’s then-boyfriend John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez.

‘Nile Rodgers, Diana Ross, Jellybean and I are wearing a Keith Haring skirt. Painted for me! It doesn’t get much better!!’ Madonna wrote with a heart emoji.