Two fans have sued Madonna for starting her Celebration Tour two hours late.
On 14 October, the ‘Like a Virgin’ singer finally kicked off her highly anticipated world tour months after she was hospitalised with a severe bacterial infection.
Split into five acts, the immersive concert features sickening choreography, larger-than-life set pieces, a Beyoncé shout-out, Bob the Drag Queen and over 40 songs from her legendary catalogue.
In addition to the high-energy numbers, Madonna’s show includes stripped-down moments, like her heartfelt rendition of ‘Live to Tell’ – which is a tribute to the countless LGBTQIA+ individuals who lost their lives during the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis.
While The Celebration Tour has garnered universal acclaim, Madge has received criticism and, most recently, legal action for her alleged tardiness.
On 17 January, two concertgoers, Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden, filed a lawsuit against the music icon for being over two hours late to her 13 December show – which was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
In the filing, Fellows and Hadden claimed that the show was scheduled to start at 8:30 pm but ended up kicking off a little after 10:45 pm, per ABC News.
Due to Madonna’s delay, the pair said they were “confronted with limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs” following the show’s conclusion at 1:00 am.
In addition to the ‘Hung Up’ singer, Hadden and Fellows have also sued Live Nation and Barclays Center, citing “unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices” for the concert not abiding by its advertised 8:30 start time.
“Defendants failed to provide any notice to the ticketholders that the concerts would start much later than the start time printed on the ticket and as advertised, which resulted in the ticketholders waiting for hours,” the suit continued, per BBC.
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Lastly, the lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and class-action status due to similar late start time delays that have allegedly occurred at other Celebration Tour dates.
As of this writing, Madonna has yet to comment on Fellows and Hadden’s pending lawsuit.
This isn’t the first time concertgoers have taken legal action against the ‘Ray of Light’ singer for being tardy.
Back in 2019, a Florida man named Nate Hollander filed a lawsuit against the ‘Express Yourself’ artist and Live Nation due to the former being two hours late for her Madame X Tour, per NBC News.
Similar to Hadden and Fellows’ experience, the show took place at 10:30 pm despite having an original 8:30 start time.
“Ticketholders had to work and go to school the next day, which prevented them from attending a concert that would end around 1:00 am,” the suit said.
“Hollander attempted, without success, to obtain a refund for the three tickets purchased for the Madonna concert.”
While Hollander dismissed the suit a month after filing, two other Madame X Tour concertgoers, Andrew Panos and Antonio Velotta, sued Madonna for the same issue in February 2020.
Ultimately, Madge and the pair settled out of court for an unspecified settlement.
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