"Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in."

Pop legend Madonna has said that negative comments about her appearance at the Grammys this weekend were a result of misogyny and ageism. The singer, who recently announced a world tour, took to the stage at the event to introduce Sam Smith and Kim Petras for their performance of Unholy. However, Madonna said that she received many unkind comments about her physical appearance in the aftermath of the awards show. Taking to Instagram, she wrote: "It was an honour for me to introduce Kim Petras and Sam Smith at the Grammys. I had wanted to give the last award which was album of the year, but I thought it was more important that I present the first trans-woman performing at the Grammys – a history-making moment." She then encouraged social media users to listen to the content of the speech rather than focusing on her appearance. "Instead of focusing on what I said in my speech which was about giving thanks for the fearlessness of artists like Sam and Kim, many people chose to only talk about close-up photos of me taken with a long lens camera by a press photographer that would distort anyone’s face," she wrote. "Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny that permeates the world we live in. A world that refuses to celebrate women pass the age of 45 and feels the need to punish her if she continues to be strong-willed, hard-working, and adventurous." The post continued: "I have never apologized for any of the creative choices I have made nor the way that I look or dress and I’m not going to start. I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come." Madonna finished up by quoting Beyoncé – "You won't break my soul" – and pledged to continue to stand up to the patriarchy.

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