Madonna has taken aim at critics who choose to poke fun at her age while reviewing her music.

The pop superstar admits she is tired of rampant ageism in the music industry, insisting it should be treated like homophobia and sexism - and not accepted.

In a fiery Rolling Stone magazine interview, the Papa Don't Preach singer says, "It's still the one area where you can totally discriminate against somebody and talk s**t. 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, 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 (writers and critics) 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."