Madonna‘s controversial mock crucifixion has been cut from a forthcoming US television broadcast.
NBC has confirmed that her live performance during the track ‘Live To Tell’ will be axed when it goes out on air in November.
The US station failed to give a reason for the cut which has caused controversy with Christian groups across the globe.
The BBC reports that a number of US religious groups had threatened to boycott one of the broadcast’s commercial sponsors if the crucifixion was included.
The segment shows the singer suspended from a giant crucifix wearing a crown of thorns. While up on the cross, screens behind her project images of Third World poverty.
Madonna‘s publicist Liz Rosenberg said: “She wanted it in, and they wanted it out. You won’t see Madonna on a crucifix. That element of the song is no longer in the show. How they came to that conclusion I really don’t know.”
The singer has repeatedly defended her performance, saying it forms part of an appeal to her audience to donate money to Aids charities.
Madonna wrapped up her world Confessions tour at the Tokyo Dome in Japan last month.