Fed up Madonna fans sue over late concert starts

Madonna fans who were tired of waiting for her concerts to start have filed a lawsuit against the singer. The suit, filed in Brooklyn federal court, claims that Madonna's Celebration tour concerts at Barclays Center in New York City began hours late last month.

The concerts were scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m., but Madonna did not take the stage until after 10:30 p.m. on all three nights, according to the plaintiffs Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden, who attended the December 13 show. They argue that they would not have purchased tickets if they had known about the significant delay.

In addition to Madonna, the lawsuit also names Barclays Center and Live Nation as defendants. The plaintiffs accuse them of engaging in false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.

The lawsuit points out that this is not the first time Madonna has been late for her concerts. In 2012, a Madonna concert in Miami did not start until around 11:30 p.m. Similarly, her Melbourne concert in 2016 started more than four hours late, while her Brisbane show in the same year was delayed by two hours.

Madonna Faces Lawsuit Over Late Start Times

Wednesday's lawsuit over Madonna's late start times also isn't the first of its kind. In 2019, a Florida fan sued over a delay, alleging the original 8:30 p.m. start time of a show at the Fillmore Miami Beach was changed to 10:30 p.m.

"There's something that you all need to understand," Madonna said during a Las Vegas concert that year. "And that is, that a queen is never late."

The plaintiffs in the latest suit are expressing themselves about Madonna's timeliness.

"By the time of the concerts' announcements, 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 suit alleges.

The plaintiffs in Wednesday's suit allege that, unlike the 2019 Florida show, there was no advance notice of the late start, leaving concertgoers hung up waiting for the December show to start. Most attendees left after 1 a.m., the suit claims, which meant there were limited options for public transportation and ride-sharing.

"In addition, many ticketholders who attended concerts on a weeknight had to get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day," the suit reads.

The plaintiffs are suing for unspecified damages.