Madonna: 'I was raped on a rooftop'

Pop superstar Madonna has revealed she was raped on a rooftop in New York within months of arriving in the city as a wannabe.

The Material Girl moved to the Big Apple from Michigan in 1977 to pursue a music career, but the city was far more dangerous than the singer thought it would be, and in an article she has written for Harper's Bazaar, Madonna details some of her scariest encounters.

She writes, "New York wasn't everything I thought it would be. It did not welcome me with open arms.

"The first year, I was held up at gunpoint. Raped on the roof of a building I was dragged up to with a knife in my back, and had my apartment broken into three times. I don't know why; I had nothing of value after they took my radio the first time."

Despite the terrifying ordeals, Madonna stayed in the city and insists the encounters helped make her strong and independent.

She continues, "I was poised for survival. I felt alive. But I was also scared s**tless..."

"I was defiant. Hell-bent on surviving. On making it. But it was hard and it was lonely, and I had to dare myself every day to keep going."