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Entity reports that Madonna slams sexism, misogyny and constant bullying.Photo by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Madonna has spoken of the “sexism, misogyny and constant bullying” she has endured throughout her 30 year career.

The pop icon used her brutally honest acceptance speech for Billboard’s “Woman of the Year” award to urge women to fight against oppression.

Opening with a humorous jab at sexism in showbiz, she told her audience in New York, “I stand before you as a doormat. Oh, I mean, as a female entertainer.”

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Her speech went on to detailed intimate stories of her life, including those painful early days in New York when trying to make her breakthrough as an entertainer.

“I was held at gunpoint, raped on a rooftop with a knife digging into my throat and I had my apartment broken into and robbed so many times I stopped locking the door,” she shared. “In the years that followed, I lost almost every friend I had to AIDS or drugs or gunshots.”

The statements and stories in her speech are aligned with her musical legacy, one that explores her sexuality, supports women and promotes diversity. CNN’s Anderson Cooper introduced her at the event but first shared her music’s influence on his own childhood.

“As a gay teenager growing up… Her music and outspokenness showed me as a teenager a way forward,” Cooper said. “Through her music, she told me and millions of teenagers — gay and straight — that we are not alone. We are connected to each other.”

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At the end of her speech, Madonna offered some wise words for women dealing with these same issues.

“What I would like to say to all women here today is this: Women have been so oppressed for so long they believe what men have to say about them,” she said. “They believe they have to back a man to get the job done.

“As women, we have to start appreciating our own worth and each other’s worth. Seek out strong women to befriend, to align yourself with, to learn from, to collaborate with, to be inspired by, to support and enlightened by,” Madonna added.

READ MORE: Tina Fey Says ‘Misogyny Is Much More Real’

She finished by reminding women to all look inward for confidence and security, noting that “in life there is no real safety except for self-belief.”

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