Madonna has spoken out in defence of her controversial and politically-charged performance at the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday.

The singer delivered a theatrical performance in Tel Aviv of her classic single Like A Prayer and new track Future, featuring Quavo from Migos. The stage show featured dancers wearing gas masks, as well as two of her dancers embracing while wearing Palestinian and Israeli flags before she yelled the message “Wake up”.

Sharing footage of her performance on Twitter, Madonna then declared that her appearance was intended to “spread the message of peace”.

“Madame X is a freedom fighter,” she wrote. “I am grateful. For the opportunity to spread the message of peace and unity with the world.”

Organisers of the contest responded via a statement: “In the live broadcast… two of Madonna’s dancers briefly displayed the Israeli and Palestinian flags on the back of their outfits. This element of the performance was not part of the rehearsals which had been cleared.

“…The Eurovision Song Contest is a non-political event and Madonna had been made aware of this.”

Last week, the singer addressed calls from protesters who have put pressure on her to pull out of the show. “I’ll never stop playing music to suit someone’s political agenda nor will I stop speaking out against violations of human rights wherever in the world they may be,” she said.

On Monday, Madonna announced more shows as part of her 2020 London residency.

She’ll release her new album ‘Madame X’ on June 14.