Talkin' Trash: Rock Star Insults That Still Sting

Rock star feuds are so much easier these days. Back in the day, an artist with a grudge had to air out the dirty laundry with a reporter, hoping the scribe would print the verbal jabs. But today an angry musician can take to the Internet and rant unedited. Here are some of the most scathing attacks in recent memory.

Axl Rose Trashes Slash

The Diss: "In a nutshell, I consider him a cancer and better avoided."

Things haven't been so friendly between the two Guns N' Roses mainstays lately. In a Spinner Interview in 2009, Rose called Slash a "whore for the limelight," suggesting there was zero chance they would ever work together again. In an April interview, Slash told Spinner that Rose's use of the word "cancer" was in poor taste, having lost his mother to the disease.

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Lily Allen Trashes Madonna

The Diss: "She might have meant something once, but I don't know many people my age who care."

The London-based pop star has made disparaging comments about several artists, which she admittedly chalks up to a lack of confidence. Still, when asked about Madonna's influence, Allen wasn't shy, saying in 2006, "I haven't got anything against her, but I don't think anything she's done since the early '80s has really been, like, wow."

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Van Morrison Trashes the Beatles

The Diss: "The Beatles were peripheral. If you had more knowledge about music, it didn't really mean anything."

You won't find too many musicians knocking the Beatles. But, then again, Morrison has a reputation for being cranky. The Irish rocker, who wasn't much impressed with Elvis, and accused both Bruce Springsteen and Bob Seger of ripping him off, told The New Yorker in 2009 that Americans had it wrong about the Fab Four.

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Joni Mitchell Trashes Bob Dylan

The Diss: "Bob is not authentic at all. He's a plagiarist, and his name and voice are fake."

In April, Mitchell took exception when a Los Angeles Times reporter compared the two, saying, "Everything about Bob is deception. We are like night and day, he and I." The plagiarism accusation might stem from a New York Times article noting that Dylan had borrowed lyrics from a Civil War poet for his 'Modern Times' album.

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Elton John Trashes Keith Richards

The Diss: "He's so pathetic, poor thing. It's like a monkey with arthritis, trying to go onstage and look young."

After John had changed the lyrics to his '70s hit 'Candle in the Wind' in 1997 to honor the late Princess Diana, Richards criticized his fellow Brit, saying John was "writing songs for dead blondes." In an interview with foreign journalists in Atlanta, John retorted that Richards was holding back the Stones.

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Kelly Osbourne Trashes Christina Aguilera

The Diss: "She is one of the most disgusting human beings in the entire world!"

During 'The Osbournes' TV show, Kelly did a mocking imitation of Aguilera in 2002 and later made clear she wasn't a fan: "She has an amazing voice, but that doesn't change the fact that she's one of the world's biggest c----s. She looks like a f---ing drag queen." Aguilera said she could easily insult Osbourne but chose not to. "She must be insecure or something," Aguilera replied.

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Paul Weller Trashes Sting and Bono

The Diss: "I don't like them because their music is rubbish. I don't like how conceited they are and how seriously they take themselves."

Though Weller performed with Sting and Bono on the Band-Aid charity single 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' in 1984, he was feeling less than charitable 26 years later. The former Jam and Style Council frontman has been on a tear as of late: In February, he said Nirvana was "f---ing rubbish."

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Bono Trashes Chris Martin

The Diss: "He's a wanker."

When BBC Radio asked Bono in 2009 how Martin measured up as a songwriter, Bono threw out the "wanker" label, adding that Martin was "a completely dysfunctional character and a cretin" but went on to compliment the Coldplay frontman's melodic gifts. Martin graciously proclaimed his respect for U2, to whom his group is often compared, saying that Coldplay are "23 years behind them and they are in a way different league."

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Beth Ditto Trashes Katy Perry

The Diss: "She's a boner dyke."

In a 2009 interview with Attitude magazine, the Gossip frontwoman and out lesbian admitted she wanted to start a band feud with Perry, whose 'I Kissed a Girl' infuriated her. The problem, Ditto says, is that the song is about a straight female who kisses women to turn men on. Said Ditto, "I'm so offended. She's just riding on the backs of our culture, without having to pay any of the dues and not being actually lesbian or anything at all."

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Robbie Williams Trashes Noel Gallagher

The Diss: "He's a mean-spirited dwarf."

The Gallagher brothers also on occasion have trouble with people who aren't each other. The boys in Oasis used to be friends with Williams, but in 2000 Noel referred to the pop singer as "the fat dancer from Take That," prompting Williams to mock Noel's height and invite him to fight. Later, Williams sent a funeral wreath with a note: "To Noel Gallagher, RIP. Heard your latest album -- with deepest sympathy."

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Pink Trashes Kanye West

The Diss: "Kanye West is the biggest piece of s--- on Earth."

When West crashed Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2009, a throng of celebrities unleashed a Twitter tirade against the hip-hop impresario, who suggested that Beyoncé should have won Swift's award. Pink was the harshest, tweeting that had he interrupted her speech, she would have thrown down: "I think he's just a waste, he's an idiot, he's a toolbox."

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Boy George Trashes Madonna

The Diss: "I just think she's a vile, hideous human being with no redeeming qualities."

The Culture Club singer's 2005 autobiography, 'Straight,' took several stars to task. During promotional interviews, he was especially harsh on Madonna, saying, "There's nothing nice about her. I've never heard anyone say anything nice abut her at all."

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David Bowie Trashes Elton John

The Diss: "Elton John is the Liberace of rock -- the token queen."

Feeling John's 1972 hit 'Rocket Man' had ripped off his 1969 song 'Space Oddity,' Bowie mocked the then-closeted John's confused sexuality. A few years later, John would fire back, "It was a joke him calling me a token queen when he confessed before his own wife, Angie, that he'd always dreamt about being Judy Garland."

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Fred Durst Trashes Scott Stapp

The Diss: "That guy is an egomaniac. He's a f---ing punk. He's backstage right now acting like f---ing Michael Jackson."

During a concert hosted by L.A radio station K-Rock in 2000, Limp Bizkit's Durst slammed the act to follow, advising fans to get pillows for Creed's upcoming performance. Stapp was not pleased, later offering to fight Durst in a charity event. "It takes a lot more guts to say something to somebody than from behind their back," Stapp was reported to say.

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Liam Gallagher Trashes George Harrison

The Diss: "I think he's a f---ing nipple."

Longtime Beatles fan Gallagher felt jilted in 1997 when Harrison suggested Oasis were "not very interesting," later adding that the band would be forgotten in 30 years and could do without "the silly one," namely, Liam. Lashing back at an idol, Gallagher called Harrison a "nipple" -- British slang for an idiot.

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Paul McCartney Trashes John Lennon

The Diss: "He could be a maneuvering swine."

After the Beatles split in 1970, Lennon and McCartney feuded both in the papers and in their lyrics. Though McCartney has recently downplayed the feud, in the mid-'80s he still harbored resentment, accusing Lennon of being jealous and insecure. "John was all action, always the loudest in any crowd, and he could be a maneuvering swine, which no one ever realized," he told Woman magazine.

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Moby Trashes Eminem

The Diss: "I think he's a misogynist and a homophobe."

At the 2001 Grammys, Moby didn't hold back his feelings about the controversial rapper, sparking a feud that led Eminem to call Moby a "little girl" at the MTV Video Music Awards. Eminem upped the ante in his song 'Without Me,' calling Moby a "bald-headed fag." Moby later made up with Eminem, saying, "I think what's gotten me into trouble [is] not learning how to keep my mouth shut."

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Stewart Copeland Trashes Sting

The Diss: "The mighty Sting momentarily looks like a petulant pansy instead of the god of rock."

You might have expected Copeland to say something like this about his former bandmate after the Police's not-so-amicable '80s breakup. However, he offered this quote on his website during their 2007 reunion tour. He later apologized for criticizing "my buddy Sting."

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Carlos Santana Trashes Gene Simmons

The Diss: "He's not a musician, he's an entertainer."

In 2005, Santana suggested the Kiss mastermind wasn't worthy of musician status. "Kiss is Las Vegas entertainment, so he wouldn't know what music is anyway." Four years later -- after Santana had signed to perform in Vegas -- Simmons hadn't forgotten. "I'm sick and tired of these bands like Carlos Santana looking at his shoes and thinking that's a rock concert," he grumbled.

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Don Henley Trashes Joe Walsh

The Diss: "He sounds like he's got a clothespin on his nose."

In 1989, the former Eagles singer-drummer was flying high as a solo act when he got wind that ex-bandmate Walsh was playing 'Life in the Fast Lane,' an Eagles song Henley sang lead on, in his solo shows. Henley objected, saying Walsh had little to do with the song -- and suggested his singing wasn't worthy. Today, the reunited Eagles are all back in the fast lane.

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Sammy Hagar Trashes David Lee Roth

The Diss: "I just saw a guy who was half the singer and half the performer he used to be, who spray-paints his hair on before he goes onstage and still acts like he's in Van Halen in 1982!"

You can pick and choose the insults various Van Halen members have targeted at one another. This one, between Hagar and Roth, came in 2002 after both former lead singers teamed up for a tour. It turned out to be a bad idea, as the pair bickered throughout.

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Christina Aguilera Trashes Britney Spears

The Diss: "She's let herself go."

Bad blood between the two pop divas began in 2003 when Spears found Aguilera embraced with her ex, Justin Timberlake. Later, Aguilera suggested Spears was washed up, saying, "No one knows who she is anymore." A few years later, after both former Mickey Mouse Club members had children, Aguilera reached out, and the two patched up their differences.

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Robert Smith Trashes Morrissey

The Diss: "If Morrissey says don't eat meat, then I'll eat meat, because I hate Morrissey."

In a 1980s interview, Morrissey, being the former Smiths frontman, was asked about famous people with that surname, including Patti Smith and the Cure's Robert Smith. Morrissey responded, "I'd line them all up, and I'd shoot them all." "When I was told that at the time, I kind of took umbrage," Smith told NME.com. "'That's f---ing nice, c----.'"