Madonna has never shied away from expressing herself, and in a new interview for 20/20, she finally answers one of the zeitgeist-iest questions of early 2011 (Better late than never!): Was “Born This Way” a straight-up Madge rip-off?

According to reports, Madonna was at first complimentary to Gaga, praising her talent for both singing and songwriting. But you know the lady can never resist a good diva-off, and eventually she went in for the cold kill:

“There’s a lot of ways to look at it. I can’t really be annoyed by it …because, obviously, I’ve influenced her…. When I heard it ["Born This Way"] on the radio… I said that sounds very familiar.”

She then said that “Born This Way” felt “reductive,” and when asked if that was a good thing or a bad thing, Her Madgesty smiled, said “look it up,” and took a sip of her tea.

Considering that she famously likes the press about as much as she likes hydrangeas, the singer handled silly questions about her 24-year-old dancer boyfriend with aplomb: “Behind the curtain, I’m just like everybody else.”

Lady Gaga has previously praised Madonna, saying, “Madonna is a wonderful influence on me.” And Madonna, previously, has been kind right back, telling Graham Norton, “When I first saw her I was really impressed by her. She was cool.” Has the diva detente been shattered now?

You can check out a preview of the interview, where she also talks kissing Nicki Minaj, below: READ FULL STORY »