Cyndi Lauper has slammed suggestions she has a decades-long rivalry with fellow pop icon Madonna.
The 70-year-old Girls Just Wanna Have Fun singer will soon be heading out on a farewell tour as she prepares to hang up the performance microphone for good.
But there have long been suggestions that she and Madonna, 65, may not see eye to eye since she first emerged on the music scene in the 1980s.
But Cindy denies the allegations, saying the pair have been pitted against each other by the media and that their music stands out for different reasons, and lamenting the fact that she could have been best friends with the Queen of Pop.
Speaking to The New York Times about the feud, Cindy lamented, “It was like apples and oranges… I wish I had friends.”
This week, Cindy announced plans for a farewell tour, explaining that she wants to hold off on live performances while the excitement is still there.
“I don't think I'll be able to perform as well as I'd like in a few years. I want to get stronger,” she told the magazine.
She added that she's undergoing rigorous preparation for the 23-date tour, combining yoga and weight training, vocal coaching four days a week, physical therapy and a healthy diet. “Being a singer means you have to be an athlete. You can't use an (expletive). When you're 20, yes. But when you get older? No.”