It’s not uncommon for some of the biggest names in music to start their concerts late, but two Madonna fans in New York are suing the singer over claims her two-hour tardiness made it difficult to wake up early the next morning.
Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden on Wednesday initiated the lawsuit against Madonna, the tour promoter Live Nation and New York’s Barclays Center, where she performed.
On the tickets purchased by Fellows and Hadden, Madonna’s sold-out Celebration Tour performance on Dec. 13, 2023 was scheduled to begin at 8:30 p.m. local time. The 65-year-old singer did not appear on stage until after 10:30 p.m.
Court records show the concert concluded around 1 a.m.
Fellows and Hadden argued that Madonna’s delayed performance was inappropriate because “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 concertgoers said they were not given any notice about the show’s delayed start.
As well as the loss of sleep, the men argued they faced legal harm because the concert’s late end time left them “stranded in the middle of the night.”
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In the lawsuit, Fellows and Hadden alleged they were “confronted with limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs.”
Had they known about the late start time, Fellows and Hadden said they would not have purchased the tickets.
“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 lawsuit reads.
Madonna performed for three nights at New York’s Barclays Centre. Each night, the singer did not take to the stage until around 10:30 p.m., despite the advertised start time being two hours prior.
The lawsuit accused Madonna, Live Nation and the Barclays Center of a breach of contract, “unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices,” negligent misrepresentation and false advertising.
Madonna, Live Nation and the Barclays Center have not commented publicly on the legal filing.
The lawsuit is seeking federal class-action status and an undisclosed amount in damages.
This is not the first time Madonna has faced a lawsuit over her late concert starts. According to The Guardian, Madonna was sued in 2009 and 2020 by concertgoers who felt scorned by her lack of punctuality.
But Madonna is not alone in her tardiness. Musicians including Lauryn Hill, Guns N’ Roses, Rihanna and Snoop Dogg have also established reputations for being late to their own concerts, sometimes by several hours.
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