Madonna Asks Judge To Toss Lawsuit, Saying Fans Should Know She Doesn’t Start Shows At Listed Time

Pop superstar Madonna has clapped back at fans who accuse her of harming them by making them lose hours of sleep when she took to the stage two hours later than advertised, saying no fan of hers would expect her, as the headlining act, to take to the stage as soon as a concert starts.

The claim was made as a part of motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by two fans who attended her New York concert, and later took legal action alleging the pop princess had broken trade laws, Fox reports.

Breach of contract or to be expected?

Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden filed the class action lawsuit saying that Madonna had advertised her Brooklyn show would start at 8:30 p.m., but she didn’t take to the stage until 10:30 p.m., amounting to "unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices” and breach of contract, Fox reported at the time.

The pair said that because of the late start, they were left waiting hours for the concert to begin and, given the full length show didn’t finish until 1:00 a.m., “they were confronted with limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs at that late hour,” the lawsuit says. “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.”

Concertgoers should know better, lawyers say

Lawyers responded to the claims last week saying getting up early to go to work isn’t an injury worthy of damages and neither is having trouble finding a ride home, Fox reports. The lawyers also said “no reasonable concertgoer —and certainly no Madonna fan — would expect the headline act at a major arena concert to take the stage at the ticketed event time.”

"Rather, a reasonable concertgoer would understand that the venue’s doors will open at or before the ticketed time, 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."

The motion to dismiss adds that Hadden, one of the fans behind the lawsuit, even wrote on Facebook after the show that it had been “incredible, as always!” 

Lawsuits in the music industry

Madonna is far from alone in facing legal action as a tip tier musician. In a round up of legal issues musicians faced in 2023, published by Billboard, there were RICO trials, copyright lawsuits, divorces, and workplace abuse accusations. 

In terms of concert issues, country star Morgan was hit with legal action from fans after abruptly canceling his 2023 show. The class action lawsuit alleged breach of contract and negligence. Other stars including Justin Beiber, Snoop Dogg, and Gwenn Stefani have had to front up to face lawsuits filed by fans over alleged issues at live performances.

In Madonna’s case, a judge will now have to make the call whether the fans claims are legitimate or Madonna is right that the timing caused no real injury.

The plaintiffs are represented by Richard A. Klass of The Law Office of Richard A. Klass, Esq. and Marcus W. Corwin of Corwin Law.

The Madonna late concert time class action lawsuit is Fellows et al. v. Madonna Louise Ciccone, et al., Case No. 1:24-cv-00357-HG, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.