Lady Gaga ends feud with Madonna by praising her awards speech

Lady Gaga appeared to end her long-running feud with Madonna by praising the female empowerment speech she gave at the Billboard Women in Music Awards.

The Material Girl star blasted the music industry for oppressing women and restricting their freedom in a rousing acceptance speech as she picked up the Woman of the Year prize at the New York ceremony on Friday (09Dec16).

Lady Gaga has regularly been compared to Madonna, which has caused friction between the pair, and they have also criticized each other in interviews in recent years - especially after Lady Gaga was accused of ripping off Madonna's Express Yourself with her 2011 track Born This Way.

However, it now seems they are on good terms as Lady Gaga reached out to Madonna on Twitter to praise her for the speech.

"@Madonna your speech at the Billboard Music Awards was inspiring," she wrote. "You're so brave & strong. Thanks for being that for us girls we need that."

The 58-year-old pop icon, who is yet to respond to the tweet, spoke about the "blatant sexism and misogyny and constant abuse" she has experienced in her 34 years in the music industry.

She also thanked her haters, adding, "Your resistance made me stronger, made me push harder, made me the fighter that I am. It made me the woman that I am today."

Lady Gaga, 30, recently went public with her battle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).