Pop superstar Elton John is in another war of words—no, not with Madonna.

The singer recently lashed out at the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, who banned books with gay content from local schools. John called the Italian politico "silly looking" and “boorishly bigoted."

Now Brugnaro is biting back, tweeting this week that the pop star represents “the arrogance of the rich."

The mayor added that he respected gay couples' "living arrangements”… [but] "kids have nothing to do with that."

"Venice should definitely not risk creating sexual confusion for children younger than 3 years old,” he insisted. "We respect the growth of babies.”

In June Brugnaro made good on an election promise by outlawing nearly 50 books with LGBT themes. Most titles were quickly returned when other authors demanded their books be pulled from shelves in solidarity. Two books with positive portrayals of same-sex parents—Jean a Deux Mamans ("Jean Has Two Mommies" and The Little Egg—are still banned.

"Instead of encouraging a world based on inclusiveness, tolerance and love, [Brugnaro] is championing a future society that’s divisive and fosters ignorance,” the Rocketman wrote on Instagram last week. "Beautiful Venice is indeed sinking, but not as fast as the boorishly bigoted Brugnaro.”