Kevin Costner Was Upset After Getting Dissed By Madonna

Madonna has quite a way with words, and sometimes her sharp tongue gets her into trouble.

In 2022, on the 30th anniversary of her scandalous coffee table book, "S.E.X.," she tooted her own horn and noted that because of her help, women in entertainment are able to express their sexuality more freely in the media. "Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP. Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball," Madonna wrote on Instagram Stories at the time (via Entertainment Weekly). "You're welcome b****es." Cardi B admitted to finding it offensive, telling her followers on Twitter that Madonna could "make her point without putting clown emojis and getting slick out the mouth."

Back in 2017, her speech at the Women's March was the subject of controversy, as she stated that she "thought an awful lot about blowing up the White House" (via CNN). But she later defended her words, underscoring that she does not "promote violence" and that the phrase was "wildly out of context."

There were a few other times when Madonna's words got the best of her, but there was one instance when she accidentally hurt someone without ever meaning to. That someone was Kevin Costner.

In 1991, Madonna released a concert film and documentary called "Truth or Dare," which revolved around her "Blonde Ambition" tour. Per Vulture, it clinched the distinction of being the highest-grossing documentary of its time.

Now, the documentary presented a side of Madonna audiences had rarely seen, including how she interacts with her fellow celebrities. In one particular scene, she was documented greeting stars who had watched her shows, one of them being Kevin Costner. The actor, who was at the height of his fame at the time, greeted Madonna backstage to tell her how much he enjoyed the show. "You were great! Thanks for having us. It was really generous of you," Costner said. "Thanks for coming," Madonna responded. Costner went on to describe her show as "neat," and Madonna said that "no one's ever responded quite that way [before]." They then parted ways and Madonna made a gagging gesture, telling the cameras, "Neat? Anybody who says my show is neat has to go."

Madonna likely said it in jest, but Costner later admitted how hurt he felt by how the singer reacted. "Yeah, I was embarrassed by it and kind of hurt by it," Costner told the Los Angeles Times in 2007. "I just went back there because I was asked to go back. And I found the best word that I could. I never called her on it or whatever."

According to "Truth or Dare" director Alek Keshishian, the decision to include Madonna and Kevin Costner's backstage interaction in the documentary was to show how nuanced Madonna's personality is. Speaking with The New York Times, he noted. "The Kevin Costner thing says something about her when she puts the finger down the throat — about how she reacts to earnestness."

Considering the size of the film's eventual audience, Costner's reaction was arguably justified. In fact, per the Belfast Telegraph, Costner felt so much disappointment that Madonna was no longer in the running for the lead on "The Bodyguard," the very same role that turned Whitney Houston into a bonafide actor.

But years later, Madonna made sure to offer her sincerest apologies. When Costner took his daughters to one of her shows at his own expense, she apologized to him on-stage. "And about the third song in, the lights were down, and she said, 'I want to apologize to someone... I want to apologize to Kevin Costner.' She just said it very simply. Ninety-eight percent of that audience didn't know what she was talking about. But I really respected that, and it showed me the power of just keeping your own counsel for a long time ... Whatever possessed her, whatever was inside her, she came to her own decision," he recalled, per the Los Angeles Times. "I never wrote her to say thank you, but I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart, and that meant more to me than you could ever know."