Madonna suffered whiplash in fall from stage

LONDON — Madonna says she hit her head and suffered whiplash when she was yanked backward down some steps while performing live at the Brit Awards.

The dramatic tumble occurred Wednesday as the 56-year-old sang “Living For Love.”

Madonna’s dancers tugged at her flowing Armani cape, but instead of coming loose it dragged the singer down three steps. Madonna said the cape had been tied too tightly at the neck “and my two lovely Japanese dancers basically strangled me off the stage.”

She told Britain’s Jonathan Ross Show: “I had a little bit of a whiplash and I smacked the back of my head. So there was a man standing over me with a flashlight until about 3 a.m., making sure I was still conscious.”

Extracts from the interview were released Friday.