Madonna wants to be like Gandhi

Madonna has admitted that she wants to emulate Gandhi, Martin Luther King and John Lennon.

The pop singer told US radio station Sirius that she hopes to follow in the footsteps of the inspirational figures in years to come.

She explained: "For me the best thing in the world is to see something or hear something and go 'damn, I wish I did that, damn, I wish I could do that. That's inspiring'. I want to be like Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, and John Lennon... but I want to stay alive."

The 48-year-old also defended the controversial crucifix scene in her Confessions tour last year.

"For me, we all need to be Jesus in our time," Madonna said. "Jesus's message was to love your neighbour as yourself and these are people in need.

"I hope that people got that message. Of course some people thought, 'Oh she's just being controversial, she's just getting on a cross and trying to piss people off,' but that wasn't my intention at all. The cross is a very powerful symbol and it symbolises suffering, but it also is connected to a person who was loving and sharing and his message was about unconditional love."