(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Elton John's partner David Furnish insists he "loves" Madonna.

Elton and David have had a famously tumultuous relationship with the iconic pop star.

However, the film director-and-producer has now been singing Madonna's praises.

When asked by paparazzi last night what he thinks of the singer, David responded, "Seriously, I love her," reports TMZ.

"I think she's a great artist...she works very, very hard ... she's an inspiration to all of us," he added.

Madonna forgave Elton in public recently, after he made an offensive comment about her tour.

Elton had claimed Madonna's shows were a "disaster" and that she looked like a "fairground stripper".

In response, the singer took to the stage in France and dedicated her track Masterpiece to Elton.

"I know he's a big fan of it. And I know he's a big fan of mine. And you know? I forgive him. Gotta start somewhere," she told the crowd.

Earlier this year Masterpiece triumphed over Elton's Hello Hello for Best Original Song at the Golden Globes.

David famously took to Facebook to air his anger about Madonna winning the award.

"Madonna winning Best Original Song truly shows how these awards have nothing to do with merit. Her acceptance speech was embarrassing in it's narcissism. And her criticism of Gaga shows how desperate she really is (sic)," he wrote on his Facebook page. (C) Cover Media