Madonna has issued a statement of apology after using a racial slur in an Instagram caption accompanying a photo of her son, Rocco Ritchie, depicting the 13-year-old Ritchie boxing, with the caption reading, “No one messes with Dirty Soap! Mama said knock you out! #disni–a.”
After making the offending post on Friday, the pop queen, who has 1.1 million followers on Instagram, was quickly inundated with criticism from angry fans, which saw her remove the photo and re-post it later with a new caption reading, “Ok let me start this again. #get off my dick haters!”
But as Billboard reports, a much more contrite Madonna issued an apology the next day, reading, “I am sorry if I offended anyone with my use of the N word on Instagram. It was not meant as a racial slur… I am not a racist. There’s no way to defend the use of the word. It was all about intention.”
“It was used as a term of endearment toward my son who is white,” she continued. “I appreciate that it’s a provocative word and I apologize if it gave people the wrong impression. Forgive me.” The incident marks the second time that Madonna has incensed people with a social media post.
Earlier this month, Madge posted a photo of Rocco Ritchie standing with two underage friends, each holding up bottles of liquor. “No one was drinking we were just having fun! Calm down and get a sense of humor! Don’t start the year off with judgement!” responded Madonna on Instagram.
