LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 14: (Exclusive Coverage) Madonna performs during opening night of The Celebration Tour at The O2 Arena on October 14, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)
Madonna’s alleged lateness to her recent concert has sparked a lawsuit filed by her own fans.
The Queen of Pop is currently on her Celebration Tour. She kicked off its first show in October and is expected to conclude in late April.
But during her stop at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on December 13, the Material Girl reportedly kept her audience waiting for over two hours.
Per TMZ, two concert-goers filed the lawsuit on Thursday (January 18), holding Madonna accountable for “false advertising.”
According to the plaintiffs, Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden, the singer violated the agreed-upon terms of ticket sales.
The fans claim they were misled by the concert’s advertised start time of 8.30 p.m., only for Madonna to take the stage well past 10.30 p.m.
Such a delay, they argue, not only disrupted their plans but also devalued the tickets they had purchased.
In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the two fans contended that this was a “wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.”
They cited that the same incident happened at her other Brooklyn concerts on December 14 and 16.
“Many ticketholders who attended concerts on a weeknight had to get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day,” the suit reads.
Had Madonna initially advertised her show to start at 10:30 p.m., the fans stated they wouldn’t have bought tickets to the concert.
The lawsuit also mentioned limited access to public transportation, given that they didn’t leave the venue until around 1 a.m. local time.
Notably, Madonna has had a history of turning up late for her shows on this particular tour.
Back in October, British fans across the pond slammed the ‘Holiday’ singer for her considerable lateness to the stage.
According to Yahoo News, the O2 Arena, where Madge held her six sold-out shows, had a strict curfew of 10:30 p.m.
But Madonna reportedly performed until 11 p.m. before abruptly stopping the entire show, with four additional songs subsequently cut from her setlist.
Fans took to X, expressing frustration that the “tube” (train service) was only running until 11:30 p.m.
The abrupt ending left many fans feeling let down and dissatisfied, which resulted in a surge of complaints.
“It was so disrespectful. The tube ends at 1130 and the O2 has a 1030 curfew,” one person with the username @justbrwsing1 wrote on X. “They knew these things yet she still went on late. She didn’t even apologize.”
Another person, @AO46125430, echoed similar words:
“It also sounded absolutely awful, like she was on night 80 not the 2nd night. No energy, I was bored and read the news, until I managed to escape for a nice quiet tube home.”
A third person chimed in on the discussion, writing:
“@Madonna get on stage on time, especially in London with the curfew. You can not be charging 1000s for tickets then doing part of the show. @guyoseary get this under control.”
The unexpected cutting short of the performance also raised questions about event management’s efficiency. Yahoo News claims she was also late for a show the day prior.
Madonna has yet to publicly address the recent lawsuit filed by her fans.
