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Madonna apologized Saturday for using a racial slur on Instagram to refer to her white son, seeking forgiveness a day after calling those who criticized her language "haters."
On Friday night, the singer posted a picture of her 13-year-old son, Rocco, boxing and included the comment, "No one messes with Dirty Soap! Mama said knock you out!" She then added a variation of the N-word.
She quickly deleted the comment when outraged Instagram users berated her for the use of the word, and was initially defiant. But in a statement to The Associated Press on Saturday, a contrite Madonna said: "Forgive me."
"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," she said. "It was used as a term of endearment toward my son who is white. I appreciate that it's a provocative word and I apologize if it gave people the wrong impression."
Besides Rocco, she has three other children, including Lourdes, David and Mercy. Mercy and David are black, adopted from the African nation of Malawi.
This is the second time this year that Madonna has offended people on Instagram. Earlier this month, she posted a photo of Rocco and his two young friends holding up bottles of liquor; she defended the post as a joke.
"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!" she responded on Instagram.