Global pop superstar Madonna has opened up about her decision to use a swastika as part of her current tour's imagery.

The Nazi iconography features in her MDNA live stage show during a song called 'Nobody Knows Me' and she explained to Brazilian network Globo that while it is obviously controversial it makes a valid point about her as a performer and about our generation.

The 'Like A Prayer' sensation revealed:

"The intolerance that we human beings have for one another. And how much we judge people before knowing them. That's why it's done in the song 'Nobody Knows Me'."

She came under fire over the weekend after using gun props during her concert in Edinburgh and a spokesperson for Mothers Against Guns was quoted as saying:

"Madonna and her dancers using replica guns was always in bad taste but given what happened in Colorado it is even worse. She should know better."

Watch the much talked about 'Nobody Knows Me' sequence below: