Lady Gaga praises Madonna for 'inspiring' feminist speech

"@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," Gaga, 30, tweeted on Monday.

Lady Gaga has praised rumoured rival Madonna for her "inspiring" speech in support of feminism at Billboard's Women in Music awards.

"@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," Gaga, 30, tweeted on Monday.

Accepting the Woman of the Year award, Madonna thanked the audience for acknowledging her 34-year career in the face of what she called "blatant sexism and misogyny and constant bullying and relentless abuse."

Branding herself a "bad feminist" who didn't deny her sexuality, the 58-year-old also opened up about a past rape.

"When I first moved to New York, I was a teenager, it was 1979, and New York was a very scary place. In the first year, I was held up at gunpoint, raped on a rooftop with a knife digging into my throat, and I had my apartment broken into and robbed so many times I just stopped bolting the door," Madonna revealed.

In her frank and revealing address, the Material Girl said she was inspired by singers Debbie Harry, Chrissie Hynde and Aretha Franklin, but her "real muse" was David Bowie.

"He embodied male and female spirit and that suited me just fine. He made me think there were no rules. But I was wrong. There are no rules - if you're a boy," the Like A Prayer singer said.

Accepting the Woman of the Year award, Madonna thanked the audience for acknowledging her 34-year career. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

"There are rules if you're a girl. If you're a girl, you have to play the game. You're allowed to be pretty and cute and sexy. But don't act too smart. Don't have an opinion that's out of line with the status quo.

"You are allowed to be objectified by men and dress like a slut, but don't own your sluttiness. And do not, I repeat do not, share your own sexual fantasies with the world. Be what men want you to be, but more importantly, be what women feel comfortable with you being around other men. And finally, do not age. Because to age is a sin. You will be criticised and vilified and you will definitely not be played on the radio."

Gaga continued: "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. There is spontaneity to my work. I allow myself to fail. I allow myself to break. I'm not afraid of my flaws."

Not one to stay silent, Madonna then wrote several social media posts that seemed to allude to Gaga's interview.

"Ink is the blood of literature. Remember when people used to write?" she cryptically tweeted.

Metro reported Madonna, like Gaga, has writing credits on all of her music.