Lady Gaga has hit back at online trolls who criticised her figure when she performed at the Super Bowl, telling them: “I’m proud of my body.”

The American singer was mocked by some critics following her half-time performance, which saw her singing a medley of her hits clad in brief shorts and a crop top.

Lady Gaga (Darron Cummings/AP)Lady Gaga (Darron Cummings/AP)

But Gaga tackled the bodyshamers on Instagram, saying everybody should embrace their own bodies as that was “the stuff of champions”.

She told her 21.8 million followers: “I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I’m proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too.

“No matter who you are or what you do.”

Gaga, 30, added a picture of herself on stage at the event, which was watched by 111.3 million viewers.

She continued: “I could give you a million reasons why you don’t need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed.

“Be you, and be relentlessly you.

“That’s the stuff of champions.”

The star finished her message by thanking fans for their support, adding: “I love you guys. Xoxo, gaga.”

Gaga has another big show coming up, as it has been confirmed that she will perform with heavy metal band Metallica at the Grammys this weekend.

The music awards show takes place in Los Angeles on Sunday.