Madonna sued by fans after 'showing up hours late for concert'

Madonna may be back in the limelight with her much anticipated returning tour - though it appears not all fans are happy.

The 65-year-old pop icon is currently embarking on her 40th anniversary tour, Madonna: The Celebration Tour, - packing out venues across the globe.

And now, two concert attendees have filed a lawsuit against Madonna, accusing her of inconveniencing other attendees after allegedly appearing at one gig hours after schedule.

Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden alleged that the 'Vogue' singer didn't take to the stage at Brooklyn's Barclays Center until 10.45pm on December 13, 2023 - two hours and 15 minutes after the scheduled 8.30pm start time.

As a result of the apparent delayed start, the show did not conclude until 1am, which left fans with 'limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing' options or 'increased public and private transportation costs at that late hour', according to lawyers Richard Klass and Marcus Corwin.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that the late starts constitute a 'wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices'.

And as the concert took place on a Wednesday evening, the lawsuit claims that many people who attended the concert had to 'get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day'.

It went on to claim that Madonna has a long history of not starting her concerts on time, CBS reports.

The lawsuit also alleges that Fellows and Hadden had 'suffered actual harm' due to the late start, which included but are 'not limited' to 'annoyance, harassment, time, frustration and anger."

Madonna is listed as a defendant in the suit under her real name, Madonna Louise Ciccone, as well as event promoters Live Nation and the Barclays Center.

It was reported in June 2023 that the 65-year-old songstress had been rushed to hospital with a serious bacterial infection, and ended up in intensive care as a result.

A statement from her talent manager, Guy Oseary, at the time said: "On Saturday June 24, Madonna developed a serious bacterial infection which lead to a several day stay in the ICU."

It went on: "Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care. A full recovery is expected.

"At this time we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour. We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows."

In the days that followed, a person close to Madonna and her family told The Daily Mail that 'her family was preparing for the worst'.

But thankfully, Madonna did make a full recovery and was able to commence her tour last year.

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