In a class action lawsuit, two men accused the Queen of Pop, Live Nation and Barclays Center of 'unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices' for offering tickets to the December 13 'Celebration Tour' with an 8:30 P.M. start time.
- Jun 6, 2024
AceShowbiz -
Madonna attempted to dismiss a lawsuit for starting "Celebration Tour" shows late. In her defense, the "Material Girl" hitmaker argued that true fans knew her concert didn't begin on time.
"If a fan is familiar enough with Madonna's concert history to know her performances run for two hours and fifteen minutes," the 65-year-old star stated in court documents obtained by TMZ, "that fan would surely know that Madonna typically takes the stage well after the ticketed event time (after an opening act, set transition, and so on) and plays late into the night."
Back in January, men named Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden filed a class lawsuit against Madonna for starting her Brooklyn show late. In the complaint, the men accused the Queen of Pop, Live Nation and Barclays Center of "unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices" for offering tickets to the December 13 "Celebration Tour" with an 8:30 P.M. start time, only for the singer to take the stage sometime after 10:30 P.M.
The show reportedly let out at 1:00 A.M., leading the plaintiffs to be "confronted with limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs.". In addition, they "had to get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day."
Madonna's lawyers, however, said there was nothing unreasonable about the timing of the concerts and that fans got exactly what they paid for. "Nowhere did Defendants advertise that Madonna would take the stage at 8.30 p.m., and no reasonable concertgoers and certainly no Madonna fan - would expect the headline act at a major arena concert to take the stage at the ticketed event time," they stated.
"Rather, a reasonable concertgoer would understand that the venue's doors will open at or before the ticketed time," they added, "one or more opening acts may perform while attendees arrive and make their way to their seats and before the headline act takes the stage, and the headline act will take the stage later in the evening."
They further argued that the lawsuit does not allege "Madonna's performance was subpar, that her performance was worth less than what they paid, or that they left the concert before watching her entire performance."
