Madonna Talks Bullying With Ellen

In a satellite appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday, Madonna speaks out against bullying and suggests people help stop the deadly problem by trying a moratorium on gossip.

The pop icon tells Ellen that she is "incredibly disturbed and saddened" by the recent surge in teen suicides due to bullying, according to excerpts of the conversation provided in advance by the show's publicist. Madonna also discusses her own experience as a victim of bullying for being "different" and talks about how she addresses the topic with her children.

Madonna offers her own suggestion for putting a stop to bullying by trying not to gossip for one day.

"I think it would be interesting for everybody to try one simple experiment," she says. "If you want to talk about solutions or how can we solve this problem? Try to get through the day, each and every one of us, without gossiping about somebody. Without gossiping about anybody. And not only that. Not even listening to gossip. Walking away from it. Can you imagine what your day would be like? How much more free time you'd have? I also feel like you'd feel about better about yourself ... "

The Ellen DeGeneres Show interview with Madonna will air Tuesday afternoon on stations nationwide.