Rapper Nelly has issued an apology after a video of a woman giving him oral sex was shared to his Instagram Stories, insisting it was never meant to end up online.

The explicit clip was shared on the 47-year-old Hot In Herre hit-maker’s account yesterday and although it was swiftly taken down, has been doing the rounds on social media.

“I sincerely apologise to the young lady and her family. This is unwanted publicity for her/them,” Nelly – real name Cornell Iral Haynes Jr – told TMZ.

Adding: “This was an old video that was private and never meant to go public.”

When asked by the US news outlet how the sex tape leak came about, representatives for the star – whose other hits include Ride Wit Me and Dilemma featuring Kelly Rowland – said they were concerned that he had been hacked.

They advised that they are now investigating amid fears that the musician’s financial information, personal documents and passwords could also be published online.

It comes not long after Nelly came under fire for criticising Madonna for posting raunchy photos on her own Instagram account.

“Some things should be covered up,” he wrote in the comments section under a photodump of the 63-year-old posing in fishnet tights and lingerie.

Her fans were not impressed, calling his remarks “sexist” and “ageist”.

“If a writer of songs like ‘shake ya tailfeather’ and ‘it’s getting hot in here So take off all your clothes’ gets triggered by Madonna’s a** photoshoot, just know dude, we’re laughing at your hypocritical BS,” one Twitter user clapped back. “Don’t sing about girls getting naked, then criticise it. Petty.”

While another user responded by referring to Nelly’s signature look of wearing a band-aid on his face in the early-2000s, writing: “He needs to put that band-aid over his mouth. Nelly, calm down dude.”