US rapper Nelly under fire for uploading video of X-rated sex act

US rapper Nelly is trending on social media after he accidentally uploaded an X-rated video on Instagram.

The 47-year-old Hot in Herre singer posted a clip of himself receiving a sex act on his Instagram stories before quickly deleting it, but fans acted swiftly and it's since been doing the rounds on the internet.

He has since apologised for the mistake, telling Fox News it was an "old video" that had accidentally made its way to his platform, which has 3.3 million followers.

"I sincerely apologise to the young lady and her family. This is unwanted publicity for her/them," he said. "This was an old video that was private and never meant to go public."

Nelly's team told the publication they fear his account was hacked.

The Texas singer's confronting video came a short time after he hit out at legendary pop star Madonna for posting photos in revealing outfits.

One of her racy posts – which saw her donning lingerie – attracted a comment from Nelly's official account, which read: "Some things should just be left covered up."

Fans have taken to Twitter in droves after the video leak:

me looking at this nelly video … pic.twitter.com/lnNM5yiprt

— material gurl 💅🏽 (@nopeaceallowed) February 8, 2022

*checks Twitter to see why Nelly is trending* pic.twitter.com/5Rco7y7xXh

— SNS. (@StunningStef) February 8, 2022

Nelly video leaks...

Madonna: pic.twitter.com/yuRxk8pZJn

— Lebang Moloi (@lebang_moloi) February 8, 2022

It is not known who the woman is in the video, however she is clearly visible.

Nelly – real name Cornell Iral Haynes Jr – shot to fame in the early 2000s with his debut album, Country Grammar, with his follow-up album Nellyville producing number-one hits Hot in Herre and Dilemma.

The singer has attracted negative headlines in recent years, after being arrested in Washington in 2017 on suspicion of second-degree rape after a woman alleged that he invited her onto his tour bus and raped her.

Nelly denied wrongdoing, and later it was revealed he would not be charged in the case because the alleged victim declined to co-operate with police.