Madonna is being sued by concertgoers who are not pleased her shows are allegedly starting later than advertised.
A pair of New York City residents, Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden, filed a lawsuit in a Brooklyn court Wednesday against Madonna, the Barclays Center and Live Nation for “unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices,” according to the suit obtained by FOX Business.
The class-action suit says the musician’s “Celebration Tour” was advertised to begin at 8:30 p.m., but Madonna did not make it to the stage until 10:30 pm on all three nights at the Barclays Center in December.
Per the filing, the fans claim they were “confronted with limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs” with the show ending after midnight.
MADONNA FANS FURIOUS AFTER SHE STARTS CONCERT LATE
The suit says the delayed start time was not only a “breach of contract” between the plaintiffs and defendants, but also “wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.”
The filing also points out that Madonna has a “long history of arriving and starting her concerts late.” The lawsuit alleges the “Material Girl” singer has been tardy for other shows, noting that “throughout her 2016 Rebel Heart Tour, her 2019-2020 Madame X Tour, and prior tours … Madonna continuously started her concerts over two hours late.”
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Due to this pattern, the lawsuit has earned class-action status in the New York court system, according to the filing.
“Madonna had demonstrated flippant difficulty in ensuring a timely or complete performance, and Defendants were aware that any statement as to a start time for a show constituted, at best, optimistic speculation,” the lawsuit alleged.
FOX Business has reached out to reps for Madonna, Live Nation and the Barclays Center for comment.
According to People magazine, citing a source, Madonna’s Dec. 13 show was pushed back by one hour due to “issues during soundcheck that caused the schedule to get delayed by an hour.”
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Madonna’s Celebration Tour was postponed in July 2023, which also marked her 40-year anniversary in the entertainment industry, after the star suffered a “serious bacterial infection” that required an ICU stay in June.
Her longtime manager, Guy Oseary, announced the news at the time.
“At the time, we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour. We will share more details with you as soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and the rescheduled shows,” the statement said.
FOX Business’ Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.