Madonna wants the media to leave Britney Spears alone

Madonna wants the media to leave Britney Spears alone.

"They need to step off," she told the "Yo on E!" satellite radio show. "For real ... Let's go save her."

The singer, who's married to film director Guy Ritchie, also said 11-year-old daughter Lourdes "gets the drift of what's going on, and I think she feels very protective of Britney."

On Thursday, Madonna, who celebrates her 50th birthday later this year, also revealed she enjoys listening to Spears' Blackout album while exercising. The two singers famously shared a kiss on the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards and collaborated on the song "Me Against the Music."

Madonna also revealed her plans to spend the summer in New York and said she may go on tour in the fall to promote her new album, Hard Candy, out April 29.