No capes! Brit Awards attendees amused and shocked after Madonna tumble
IBTimes UK

The repercussions from Madonna's famous fall at the Brit Awards on Wednesday night are still being felt by the 56-year-old singer, who says she suffered whiplash as a result.

The Queen of Pop took a terrifying tumble after backing dancers pulled her Armani cape off during a choreographed routine, dragging her backwards down some stairs in the process.

She denied her fall was a publicity stunt, telling television host Jonathan Ross that she hurt her head as she fell.

"I had a little bit of a whiplash and I smacked the back of my head," she told Ross. "So there was a man standing over me with a flashlight until about 3am to make sure I was compos mentis."

"I was told to tie my cape and start much further back than I had rehearsed, and because I hadn't walked so much further everyone was worried that my cape was going to slide off because it was quite heavy. They tied it really tightly around my neck.

"So here I am marching in like the Queen and I got to the top of the stairs and I pulled my silky string and it did not come undone. And my two lovely Japanese dancers basically strangled me off the stage. I had a choice - I could either de-strangle or fall with the cape, and I fell."

Somewhat ironically, the singer took her tumble as she performed new song Living for Love, which includes the line: "I'm gonna carry on, lifted me up, and watched me stumble."

Madonna, who was praised for the professional way she shrugged off the fall and continued singing, also hit out against hurtful comments highlighting her age.

It's still the one area where you can totally discriminate against somebody," she told Rolling Stone. "Because of their age. Only females, though. Not males. So in that respect we still live in a very sexist society."

"No one would dare to say a degrading remark about being black or dare to say a degrading remark on Instagram about someone being gay," she continued.

"But my age – anybody and everybody would say something degrading to me. And I always think to myself, why is that accepted? What's the difference between that and racism, or any discrimination?

"They're judging me by my age. I don't understand. I'm trying to get my head around it. Because women, generally, when they reach a certain age, have accepted that they're not allowed to behave a certain way. But I don't follow the rules. I never did, and I'm not going to start."