Madonna calls her son Rocco the n-word on social media; later apologizes

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Madonna caused quite a stir on social media Friday night when she reportedly posted a photo on Instagram with a caption that included a racial slur.

The photo is one of her 13-year-old son Rocco during his boxing practice. The caption reads: “No one messes with Dirty Soap! Mama said knock you out! #disn—a”

According to BuzzFeed, the 55-year-old pop icon deleted the photo moments later after the post was flooded with comments attacking the singer.

“Really @madonna ???,” one user wrote. “Why do u think it’s EVER appropriate for ANYONE to use the word?!! Total disrespect.”

Madonna then reposted the photo with a different caption, this time lashing out at critics of her original caption.

In her second post, she wrote: “Ok, let me try this again. #get off my d–k haters!”

Some are even more outraged since the “Justify My Love” singer is also the mother of two adopted Malawian children, Mercy James and David Banda.

However, Madonna issued an apology Saturday obtained exclusively by E! News Alicia Quarles, saying “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.”

She added: “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.  I appreciate that it’s a provocative word and I apologize if it gave people the wrong impression. Forgive me.”

Madonna is not known for shying away from sharing her thoughts on a number of issues. In a 1995 article with Spin magazine, the “Queen of Pop,” who formerly dated basketball player Dennis Rodman, made headlines when she commented on the state of race relations in America and her experiences with dating black men.

She said: “I believe that I have never been treated more disrespectfully as a woman than by the black men that I’ve dated.”

 Follow Lilly Workneh on Twitter @Lilly_Works