Madonna Defends Edited Photos of MLK and Nelson Mandela in Pseudo-Apology

Madonna has responded to the outrage over altered photos of Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela depicting each man with cords wrapped around his face to promote her upcoming album Rebel Heart.

"I'm sorry," Madonna wrote on Facebook Saturday. "I'm not comparing my self to anyone I'm admiring and acknowledging there Rebel Hearts This is neither a crime or an insult or racist!"

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The singer also noted that she had done the same to photos of Michael Jackson, Frida Khalo and Marilyn Monroe before trying to shift the blame to her fans. "I didn't do it," she wrote. "My fans did And I just re posted those photos."

"My fans aren't racist either," Madonna added. "If they put me in the same category as these other people Thank you. I'm very flattered and I hope one day to live up to 1 100th of what those people accomplished."

As of now, the controversial images remain on her Instagram account though they have been deleted from her Twitter.

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