Madonna asks judge to toss lawsuit over late concert start time: “Fans got just what they paid for”

Madonna’s lawyers filed a motion to dismiss on Thursday a lawsuit against the pop superstar for starting a concert two hours late, arguing that the plaintiffs showed no obvious injuries, according to court documents.

Plaintiffs Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden filed the lawsuit earlier this year after attending one of Madonna’s international concerts. Celebration Tour shows in Brooklyn in December, alleging they were “misled” by the announced 8:30 p.m. start time.

They also sued the Barclays Center and Live Nation for “gratuitous exercise of false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.”

The plaintiffs argued that they would not have purchased tickets if they had known the concert would start at 10:30 p.m. They also claimed that the show’s end time was around 1 a.m., which could have caused inconvenience or injury to concertgoers due to limited transportation options and being forced to stay up later than expected.

Madonna’s lawyers argued that concerts rarely start on time and that hers in particular are well known for late starts. They also pointed out that Hadden posted on Facebook the day after that concert that he had “never missed a Madonna tour” and later told CNN that he had “been to every Madonna tour since 1985,” specifying that the late start time could not be accommodated. This was not a surprise, the motion reads.

According to court documents, Hadden also praised the series on Facebook, calling it “(i)incredible, as always!”

“Mr. Hadden’s press interviews suggest, at best, that he may be irritated that one of his favorite artists is taking the stage later than he would like,” the lawyers said, arguing that this did not constitute sufficient grounds for invoking damage.

Madonna’s lawyers also argued that there was no evidence that the late start time hurt concertgoers, including the plaintiffs, who they say stayed to watch the entire show instead of leave earlier.

“Fans got exactly what they paid for: a high-quality, comprehensive show from the Queen of Pop,” Madonna’s lawyers said.

The January lawsuit was not the first time fans tried to take action against Madonna’s late hours. In 2019, a Florida fan sued over Madonna’s delayed departure in Miami Beach.

“There’s something you all need to understand,” Madonna told fans during a concert in Las Vegas in 2019. “And that’s just one the queen is never late“.

—Aliza Chasan contributed reporting.