Madonna Sued Again For Late Concert Start—And ‘Pornography’
Madonna, a famous pop star, got sued by a fan due to her delayed start in the Los Angeles concert on March 7, the uncomfortable temperature in the venue, and the alleged exposure of concert attendees to pornographic content without prior notice. This is the third lawsuit filed against the singer for similar reasons during her Celebration Tour.
Fans have brought legal action against Madonna on three separate occasions due to delayed start times for her Celebration Tour performances. (The accompanying image shows Madonna and is credited to Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation.)
Justen Lipeles, the person who is bringing a legal case to court, has claimed that Madonna and Live Nation were late starting the concert on March 7 in Los Angeles. According to the tickets that Justen bought, the concert should have begun at 8.30 pm, but Madonna actually started at 10 pm.
Furthermore, Lipeles claimed that the place was overly warm and implied that Madonna had declined to permit the air conditioning to operate. This resulted in the heat making him feel unwell to the point where it affected his physical well-being.
The person who filed a complaint mentioned that viewing the concert was equivalent to "witnessing the production of an obscene movie." They claimed that Madonna exposed the audience to pornographic content without any prior warning, as her performance showcased nude women performing sexual actions.
Lipeles supposedly procured four seats, costing $500 per ticket, and is taking legal action against the organization for violating the agreement, carelessly providing false information, engaging in unjust competition, disseminating misleading advertisements, and causing him emotional suffering. He is seeking redress for his expenses and a reimbursement for the tickets.
Madonna has been sued twice before for starting her shows on the Celebration Tour late. Two concertgoers claimed that she started two hours after the scheduled start time in December and this was false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices. Transport was limited and fans could not get to work. Madonna and Live Nation said that the technical difficulties caused the late start, but they will fight the case. Three plaintiffs sued Madonna and Live Nation last month in Washington, D.C. for starting two hours later than scheduled. They also said that she lip synced and kept a hot and uncomfortable temperature in the venue. In 2019, another plaintiff, Nate Hollander, sued Madonna for starting a concert late in Miami, but he dismissed the case later.
Madonna's team explained in an April motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed in January that anyone attending a large arena concert, and especially those who are fans of Madonna, should not expect the main performer to start exactly at the scheduled time stated on the ticket. They further argued that there was no indication on the ticket that Madonna's performance would start at 8:30 p.m.
Madonna was named as one of the top-grossing artists in the midyear touring report by Billboard Boxscore. This is based on the data that was reported to Billboard for gigs that happened between Oct. 1, 2023 and March 31. She earned an estimated $190 million through her 67 shows, which makes her the third highest-earning artist. The highest earning artists were U2, who made $231 million, and Pink, who made $196 million. It's important to note that Taylor Swift's Eras Tour wasn't included in the ranking, as she didn't disclose touring data to Billboard.
On May 4, Madonna finished up her Celebration Tour by hosting a concert in Rio de Janeiro that was free to attend. The show drew in a whopping 1.6 million fans, making it the biggest standalone concert ever for any artist according to Live Nation. This number beat out the Rolling Stones' 2006 performance in Brazil, which also had over a million attendees.
Madonna is facing legal action after allegedly displaying explicit content during her concert in LA without informing the audience. The lawsuit claims that the singer violated unfair competition and consumer protection laws by including pornographic images and videos during her performance. Madonna has not responded to the accusation yet.
Madonna has responded to a lawsuit claiming her concerts start later than scheduled, causing fans to miss them. Madonna argues that her fans cannot sue her for being tired or having to wake up early in the morning. This response comes in light of a growing trend of concert-goers filing lawsuits against artists for not performing at their scheduled time, with many citing work and other personal commitments as reasons for their tardiness. Despite this, Madonna is standing firm and maintains that fans should expect to stay up late and enjoy her performances regardless of their schedule.
According to Forbes, the most successful concert tours made an extraordinary $1.5 billion from October to March. It's important to note that this impressive amount does not include the Eras Tour.
