Madonna Goes on Instagram Rant in Defense of Her Prince Tribute at Billboard Music Awards

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Despite her critics, Madonna was pleased with her tribute to Prince at Sunday's Billboard Music Awards.

The performance -- which also included a surprise appearance by Stevie Wonder -- was met with mixed reviews, but the 57-year-old pop star Instagrammed that the haters can "deal with it."


WATCH: Stars React to Prince's Death -- Read Touching Tributes From Carmen Electra, Katy Perry, Madonna and More

"Anyone who wants to do a tribute to Prince is welcome to. Whatever your age gender or skin color," Madonna captioned a pic of herself, still donning her purple costume from the awards show, from Beauty & Essex Las Vegas. "If you loved him and he inspired you then show it!!!! I love Prince 4 ever."

The "Material Girl" singer then posted a video with the caption: "This is my 'I'm not your bitch don't hang your shit on me' dance."

Immediately following Madonna's performance in honor of her late friend, BET threw some major shade with a tweet promoting its own awards show, airing next month, which will also feature a tribute to Prince. The 15-second promo, which featured the sound of rain and the musician's iconic symbol, concluded with the following message, "Yeah, we saw that. Don't worry. We got you," appearing across the bottom.

Madonna became quite emotional while remembering Prince, who died on April 21, through song at the BBMAs. The performance began with the lights dimming inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, thus turning the entire venue purple as audio of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" was heard.


WATCH: The Best, Worst and Weirdest Moments at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards

Next, Madonna showed up onstage wearing a Prince-like lavender suit and ruffled shirt while sitting on an oversized velvet throne. She opened with a touching rendition of "Nothing Compares 2 U," the Sinead O'Connor song that Prince wrote. Wonder then joined Madonna to sing the music icon's hit, "Purple Rain."

"Thank you, Prince Rogers Nelson, for all that you have given us," she concluded, closing out the ceremony.

Check out the tribute below:

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