Cyndi Lauper admits Madonna rivalry in the 80s was 'sad' - amid years-long rumors of a feud: 'I would have liked to have a friend'

• READ MORE: Madonna is no stranger to feuds  

'80s icons Cyndi Lauper and Madonna were considered rivals as they climbed the charts during their early years of fame. 

Now Cyndi has reflected their apparent feud, confessing she found the friction 'sad' - yet admitted she didn't even think the Material Girl singer, 65, 'liked' her all that much. 

Cyndi, 70, admitted she even took Madonna's style into consideration at the time to avoid comparisons between them two of them.  

She told E! News: 'Isn't that sad, there can only be room for one? I didn't like it.'

Asked if she ever told Madonna how she felt about the way they were portrayed as each other's competition, Cyndi suggested she didn't think it would have made a difference. 'Nah, I didn't think she liked me that much,' she replied. 

The music legend even kept the rivalry in mind when it came to her fashion choices, to avoid people thinking she was copying Madonna.

Reflecting on her hairdo in the mid-1980s, she said: 'See, my hair at that point, Madonna had blonde hair.

'I said "OK doll, I'll just put a black spot here so they know the difference between the two of us."'

The Time After Time singer recently admitted she wishes they could have been friends.

She told the New York Times newspaper: 'It was a shame. I would have liked to have a friend.'

She also quipped: 'It was like apples and oranges,' in reference to people being made to 'choose' one.

Now, Cyndi is preparing for her farewell tour after announcing one last jaunt playing her music across North America, and she admitted she wants to go out on a high.

The True Colors star said: 'I don't think I can perform the way I want to in a couple of years. I want to be strong.'

She has been working hard to prepare for the tour, with her preparations including yoga and weight exercises, plus healthy eating, physical therapy and four days a week of vocal coaching.

She added: 'When you're a singer, you have to be an athlete. You can't f*** around. When you're 20, yeah. But when you get older? No.'

Cyndi has previously had a bone to pick with Madonna - in 2017 she criticized the Like A Virgin's profanity-laced speech at the Women's March.

In her speech, Madonna told the audience how she at times was angry after the election and had thought 'an awful lot about blowing up the White House'. 

While happy Madonna attended the march, she felt her message didn't 'serve' their larger vision. 

'I was glad that she went,' Lauper said on Watch What Happens Live. 'I think it happens a lot when you are really jacked up, feeling your emotions. I don't think it served our purpose because anger is not better than clarity and humanity.' 

However, she has previously credited Madonna for inspiring her early singing career.

The Time After Time artist was promoting the hit musical Kinky Boots during an appearance on The Project back in 2016 and she was asked whether she ever felt threatened by the success of fellow artists when she first started out.

'No! I thought of them with pretty great regard,' she said - specifically referring to Madonna, Prince and Boy George.

'[Prince's] music has always been a part of my musical landscape, as was Madonna.

She added: 'I got to say, I fool around and say she was my evil cousin but when she did Like A prayer, my Catholic schoolgirl heart was... I loved her! She was a hero, right? She got everyone upset. That was so good. Right?'

Cyndi also has previously revealed she has been mistaken for legendary artist Madonna.

Despite having a much less provocative image than Madonna, fans would often confuse the pair and Cyndi admitted that there were times that she didn't bother correcting them.

'It happens to me once in a while. I just sign Madonna. I don't care and as long as I don't talk I get away with it,' she previously revealed on The Graham Norton Show.