Sunday night's alright for fighting about who deserved a Golden Globe

David Furnish, left with Sir Elton John at the Golden Globes, criticised the decision to give Madonna the best original song award (Getty Images; Reuters)

Sir Elton John and Madonna are on opposite sides of a very public contretemps following Sunday's Golden Globes in Los Angeles. At issue: a decision to hand Madonna the "Best Original Song" prize at the event, at the expense of her British rival.

The disappointment felt in Sir Elton's camp emerged on Monday via a post on Facebook by the British singer's husband, David Furnish. "Madonna winning... truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit," it read. "Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in it's [sic] narcissism."

On the red carpet before the ceremony, Sir Elton had been similarly dismissive. "Madonna doesn't have a fucking chance," he predicted. When a surprised reporter asked if "those were fighting words?" he replied: "No, those are accurate words."

At a backstage press conference, Madonna noted that she had often feuded with Sir Elton in the past: "I hope he speaks to me for the next couple of years," she said.