Two visitors complained because Madonna’s late start to the performance ended up having serious consequences for them.
On January 17, two New York fans filed a lawsuit against Madonna for allegedly starting her concert at the Barclays Center two hours late. Since the plaintiffs were unable to drive home until 1 a.m., they would have had difficulty meeting their “family responsibilities” the next day, according to the statement in the lawsuit. Now both Madonna’s management and the tour organizers have responded to the allegations. They explained that the delay was caused by “sound check problems” and not by Madonna herself.
“We intend to defend this case vigorously”
In addition to Madonna, the two gig-goers also sued the venue and the organizers Live Nation. They support their position by reporting that they engaged in “unauthorized, unfair and/or deceptive trading practices” as a result of the delay. No further details are available to the public.
In a statement, management and Live Nation not only denied that the late start of the performance was Madonna’s fault, but also that it was a two-hour delay in the start of the concert. The crowd would have only had to wait an hour longer. The indictment mentions a start time of 8:30 p.m., although the scheduled opening song was scheduled for 9:30 p.m. from the outset. Specifically, the official statement reads: “Madonna’s just-concluded, sold-out 2023 ‘Celebration Tour’ in Europe received rave reviews. The North American shows began as planned at Barclays in Brooklyn, with the exception of a technical issue on December 13 during sound check. This led to a delay that was well documented in press reports at the time. We intend to defend this case vigorously.”
With their lawsuit, the fans actually wanted to ensure that future shows on Madonna’s tour would actually begin at the scheduled times. In their statement of claim, they also asked for support from other concertgoers. However, the approach is not new: in 2019, a person from the audience in Florida claimed that the singer had committed a breach of contract by being late on the “Madame X” tour. A year later, similar allegations came from two New York concert participants who wanted to take them to court. However, both cases were withdrawn by the fans a short time later – without consequences for both sides.