Madonna reacts to backlash on her VMAs speech: 'Just to clarify...'

Madonna is responding to the backlash that she received after presenting Camila Cabello with Video of the Year at the end of Monday night's MTV Video Music Awards.

Before presenting the ceremony's biggest category, the singer delivered a speech with a giant photo of the late Aretha Franklin on the screen behind her. What was seemingly pegged as a tribute to Franklin, who had died less than a week before the show, actually consisted mostly of Madonna telling several stories from the beginning of her own career.

The only mention of Franklin really came when the "Like A Virgin" singer said that she sang "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" for an audition early in her career.

Madonna was immediately criticized for the speech online, with many accusing her of being self-involved and tone-deaf after making a tribute to the Queen of Soul about herself.

On Tuesday, Madonna took to Instagram to attempt to clear things up.

"Im with the Winner!! The beautiful @camila_cabello! So proud of her!" she captioned a photo of her and Cabello backstage. "And just to clarify: I was asked to present video of the year by MTV! And then they asked me to share any anecdotes I had in my career connected to Aretha Franklin! I shared a part of my journey and thanked Aretha for inspiring me along the way. I did not intend to do a tribute to her! That would be impossible in 2 minutes with all the noise and tinsel of an award show. I could never do her justice in this context or environment."

"Unfortunately most people have short attention spans, and are so quick to judge," she added. "I love Aretha! R.E.S.P.E.C.T. I Love Camilla! Congrats! I LOVE my dress! AND. I love-L O V E!! and there is nothing anyone can say or do that will change that."

More photos from the VMAs: