Madonna denies boozy onstage behaviour

Madonna has denied allegations she has been performing drunk while on tour in Australia.

The Material Girl singer has been accused of hitting the stage while under the influence during two shows in Melbourne last week (ends13Mar16).

During one show she turned up four hours late dressed up as a clown, with a pink wig, striped tights and top hat, and reportedly downed vodka cocktails. During another concert she allegedly drank tequila and alcohol from a fan's hip flask.

She has now blasted the fresh reports on Instagram.com by calling them sexist. She posted a screen grab of a fan ranting about the rumours, and in the caption, she wrote, "Thanks for supporting me. Too bad people don't know the art of acting and playing a character. I could never do any of my shows high or drunk. And yes underlying all of this is sexism and mysongony (sic) which proves that not only do we not get equal pay bUt (sic) we are still treated like heretics if we step out of line and think outside the box! . Sexism is alive and kicking but i am ?#livingforlove (sic)."

According to one report from the Melbourne show, she told the crowd, "One thing I'm going to do here tonight that I've never done before when singing is drink... I'm not supposed to be asking for alcohol right now but, Jesus Christ, get me some drink."

It was thought her boozy onstage behaviour was fuelled by her ongoing custody battle with her ex-husband Guy Ritchie over their 15-year-old son Rocco. The teenager has refused to return back to the U.S. following a trip to London to visit his father in December (15).

Madonna was previously forced to deny claims she had been drunk during a Rebel Heart Tour stop in Kentucky in January (16).