Madonna has slammed director Norman Jewison for his scathing criticism of her acting abilities.

The "Material Girl" singer insists she wouldn't have achieved her superstar status if she wasn't a skilled entertainer. She said this in response to the "Moonstruck" filmmaker's attack on movie bosses for giving her a succession of coveted roles, despite what he said was her lack of talent.

"Madonna? It's all hype. Come on. How do you know whether anybody can act? You're told that they're a big star, you know, or somebody's got a cute ass. But Madonna has a small amount of talent," Internet Media Database quoted the director as saying.

Madonna's spokeswoman Liz Rosenberg said: "I completely disagree with his statement about Madonna making a lot out of a little talent. I don't think you can sell 100 million records and sell out arenas and stadiums for over 20 years just being a celebrity."