Madonna's VMA kickoff sees her 'thrown around like a ragdoll' in chaotic performance which sparks concern

Madonna returned to the stage at the VMAs, more than four decades on from her first appearance at the MTV awards show, but some music fans were left concerned for the singer after she was ‘thrown around like a ragdoll’.

The Queen of Pop was at the very first MTV Video Music Awards ceremony back in 1984 where she performed her hit Like a Virgin.

Since then she’s made several other headline-grabbing appearances at the annual awards ceremony, including in 2003 when she kissed Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera live on stage.

Madonna, 68, returned to the VMAs this evening putting on a raunchy performance alongside Sabrina Carpenter to perform their hit Bring Your Love.

As ever, Madonna pulled out all the stops to ensure that her performance got people talking as she took the stage.

Later on, she welcomed out Charli XCX and the pair belted out the track Danceteria, while dancing around a stage set that was decked out with toilet cubicles.

Other stars who took the stage with Madge were Julia Garner, Debi Mazar, Seth Rogan, Sombr and Nigel Barker.

Madonna’s performance tonight is the first time that she’s appeared at the VMAs in 23 years and to say fans were excited is an understatement.

However, some viewers were left concerned after she appeared to be ‘struggling’ on stage during her performance, while others suggested it was all part of the act.

Mid-performance, Madonna appeared to be dragged onstage and dropped by her backing dancers.

And it left some fans questioning if she was OK.

Sharing a clip of the moment, one fan wrote: “Why was Madonna struggling so much right here?”

Someone else asked: “I’m so sorry but is Madonna okay????”

“They all just throwing her around like a ragdoll,” another said.

But others reckoned there was no cause for concerns and suggested it was likely all choreographed as part of the show.

“She was acting,” one fan said. “Leave that lady alone. At least she’s doing more than these other pop girls do these days.”

A second wrote: “I’m pretty sure it was part of the act. She looked totally fine performing the song with Charli after this bit.”

And another said: “It was theatrics.”

Following her performance, Madonna was honoured with the Artist of the Year award and shared a few words on her first ever appearance at the VMAs, sharing that things did not go to plan and she was told it could be the end of her career.

She said: “Some of you were probably not born - I think most of you were probably not born - but I performed at the first MTV Awards 43 years ago.

“And I had a little problem with my shoes, and one of my stilettos fell off, and I dove onto the stage to try to, like, make myself look cute and sexy, and I meant to do it. And my dress went up, and my butt cheek was hanging out, and in those days, butt cheeks were not hanging out. I just want to remind you.

“And I went backstage feeling really proud of myself, and my manager told me that my career was over. That is the truth. Not my manager, now. No. He was the assistant to the manager. It's best not to say anything.”

Well, she’s well and truly proved him wrong, hasn’t she?