Manchester, Dec 16 (IANS): Madonna defended herself against those who criticised her for reportedly calling her fans "b***ches" who booed the singer after her concert here was delayed for almost an hour.

"Thank you all for waiting... I don't like to be late, by the way... and all you b***hes who keep complaining about it can shut the f**k up," Madonna said at the concert on Monday, reports aceshowbiz.com. 

The 57-year-old took to Instagram to defend herself by posting a lengthy message, detailing the incidents that led to the concert's delay. 

"Facts: It's good to have them before you jump to conclusions! The entire video for my show crashed as I arrived for sound check. The back up file was corrupt. We had no choice but to reboot and pray for a good outcome. The video lights 75 percent of my show. We can't play in the dark. We were rebooted and ready by 9.30 even though we planned to go in earlier," Madonna wrote. 

"I had to make cuts in show before show started. 'Dress you up' was one of them and my third guitar song. This still brought us past the 11:00 curfew! But we went on and the venue was kind enough to extend till 11:39! It was their choice not mine to end the show!" she continued. 

The pop star then apologised to her fans and thanked them for "understanding". 

"...always want to finish. So we all missed the last three songs! And I'm sorry about that. And I thank all my 'Rebel heart' fans for understanding! We did our best! And we still had to pay a fine! That's life. PS you still got to see an amazing show. And only missed 12 minutes! The #rebelhearttour goes on," she added.