Madonna, Live Nation sued over concerts’ two-hour late start
ByNatalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Lawsuit FILE PHOTO: Madonna speaks onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. She is being sued by two ticketholders for starting her concerts late. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
ByNatalie Dreier, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Being a bit late is excusable, but starting a concert two hours after it was scheduled to begin is a different story — and one that may land the Material Girl in court.
Two fans of Madonna are suing her, saying she showed “flippant difficulty” during her recent “Celebration Tour” dates in Brooklyn, CNN reported.
The suit was filed on Wednesday, accusing her of false advertising and negligent misrepresentation.
The concerts were supposed to start at 8:30 p.m. at Barclays Center in December, but all three nights, she didn’t take the stage until after 10:45 p.m., ABC News reported.
Concertgoers left the show after 1 a.m. and were “confronted with limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs at that late hour.”
The people who went to the shows on weeknights “had to get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day,” the legal filing said.
The ticket holders named Madonna; tour promoter Live Nation Worldwide, Inc.; Live Nation M Tours; and Brooklyn Events Center, LLC, doing business as Barclays Center, as defendants.
The suit said that all ticket holders for her U.S. tour may be included as part of a class action lawsuit.
The amount of the actual and consequential damages will be determined at trial.
One plaintiff, Michael Fellows, paid $155.90 for a ticket to the concert. The other plaintiff, Jonathan Hadden, paid $292.50 for two tickets, according to the court filing.
This isn’t the first time Madonna has been accused of and sued for starting concerts after they were scheduled to begin.
She was the subject of a class action suit in 2019 after she was two hours late for a concert in Miami, USA Today reported.
“Based on the years-long history of Madonna arriving several hours late to prior concerts (and which conduct continued at concerts in other cities after the Concerts at the Barclays Center, including concerts in Washington, D.C. and Boston), Plaintiffs knew or should have known that the Concerts would not start at 8:30 p.m., and that Madonna would not take the stage until several hours after the start time, causing Plaintiffs and all Class Members to have to wait several hours,” this week’s lawsuit stated.
The “Celebration Tour” had been scheduled to kick off in July 2023 but started in October in London after being delayed due to Madonna’s health scare in June, ABC News reported.
ABC News, CNN and USA Today all reached out to Madonna and others for comment but did not hear back by late Friday morning.
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Photos: Madonna through the years 1978: Singer Madonna is shown in New York City in fall 1978. (Michael McDonnell/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 1984: American singer and actress Madonna poses outside the first MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York on September 14, 1984. (Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 1990: American singer and actress Madonna performs her song "Vogue" at the MTV Video Music Awards in September 1990. (Frank Micelotta/ImageDirect via Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 1991: Madonna and Michael Jackson are shown at an after-party for the 63rd annual Academy Awards on March 25, 1991. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 1993: Madonna is shown at the Madison Square Show in New York City on Oct. 14, 1993. (Steve Eichner/WireImage via Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 1996: Madonna appears at the Los Angeles premiere of "Evita" on Dec. 14, 1996. (Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage via Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2001: Pop star Madonna performs in concert July 25, 2001, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2002: Singer and actress Madonna and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, arrive with their daughter, Lourdes, at the opening of the Mario Testino photography exhibition January 29, 2002, at the National Portrait Gallery in London. (Anthony Harvey/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2003: Singers Britney Spears (left), Madonna and Christina Aguilera perform onstage during the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall on August 28, 2003, in New York City. (Scott Gries/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2004: Singer/actress Madonna performs onstage during her "Re-Invention" World Tour 2004 at The Great Western Forum, May 27, 2004, in Inglewood, California. The outfit she is wearing is designed by Christian LaCroix. (Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2005: Singer Madonna and her husband, director Guy Ritchie, arrive at the UK Premiere of "Revolver" at the Odeon Leicester Square on September 20, 2005, in London. (Gareth Davies/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2006: Singer Madonna performs live at the LTU Arena on August 20, 2006, in Duesseldorf, Germany. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2007: Madonna performs on stage during the Live Earth concert held at Wembley Stadium on July 7, 2007, in London. (Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2008: Singer Madonna, with special guest singer Britney Spears, performs during her Sticky and Sweet Tour at Dodger Stadium on November 6, 2008, in Los Angeles. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2009: Singer Madonna (left) and daughter Lourdes Leon attend the New York premiere of "NINE" at the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 15, 2009, in New York City. (Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Weinstein Company)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2010: Singer Madonna and daughter Lourdes Leon attends the "Material Girl" collection launch at Macy's Herald Square on September 22, 2010, in New York City. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2011: Lourdes Leon (left) and Madonna arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter held at Sunset Tower on February 27, 2011, in West Hollywood, California. (Craig Barritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2012: Nicki Minaj, Madonna and MIA perform during the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012, in Indianapolis. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2013: Madonna attends the Costume Institute Gala for the "PUNK: Chaos to Couture" exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2013, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for The Huffington Post)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2014: Singer Madonna (right) and son David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie attend the 56th Grammy Awards at Staples Center on January 26, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2015: Madonna performs onstage during the 57th annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center on February 8, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2016: Madonna attends the "Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 2, 2016, in New York City. (Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2017: Madonna attends the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art of the In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017, in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2018: Madonna attends the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & the Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018, in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2019: Maluma and Madonna perform onstage during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 1, 2019, in Las Vegas. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for dcp)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2021: Madonna speaks onstage during the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards at Barclays Center on September 12, 2021, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for MTV/ViacomCBS)
Photos: Madonna through the years 2022: Madonna attends a celebration of the Lola bag, hosted by Burberry & Riccardo Tisci on April 20, 2022, in Los Angeles. (Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty Images for Burberry)