"I don't want to escalate it because I like Madonna," the 57-year-old singer-songwriter tells Entertainment Weekly. "She's been to my house for dinner. It was something that was said in the heat of the moment, and probably should not have been said."

"Would I apologize to her if I saw her?" said John. "Yeah, because I don't want to hurt any artist's feelings. It was my fault. I instigated the whole thing. But it applies to all those bloody teenage singers."

John made the comment when presenting the Best Live Act award during the Q awards in London earlier this month. In EW's Nov. 6 issue, John described the event as "a very drunken lunch."

"The reaction to it was so hysterical," he said. "It was like I said, 'I think all gays should be killed' or 'I think Hitler was right.' I just said someone was lip-synching. I'm not afraid to speak my mind. I'm not going to mellow with age. I get more enraged about things as I get older because you see that these injustices go on."

(Madonna's spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg has said the singer doesn't lip-synch and indicated that she hadn't taken John's words too seriously.)

In the article, John also revealed he loves Eminem's new album, Encore; might collaborate with the Scissor Sisters; doesn't see himself stopping recording; and wouldn't have a "Jennifer Lopez wedding."