Two grown adults have sued Madonna in federal court because she allegedly started her Barclays Center concerts two hours late.
In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, concertgoers Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden said they bought tickets to Madonna's performances at the Barclays Center last month believing that the 8:30 p.m. start time was an accurate representation of when the famously tardy performer would take the stage.
Instead, Madonna appeared after 10:30 p.m. all three nights, and according to the lawsuit, this is evidence of her "flippant difficulty in ensuring a timely or complete performance." (Madonna? Flippant? No!)
"Concerts would start late, which resulted in the ticketholders waiting for hours for the concerts to begin, being unable to resell their tickets; others being left stranded in the middle of the night because they missed their arranged ride home or public transportation and some private transportation was limited and/or more expensive at that late hour," the lawsuit states. That "late hour" they're referring to is 1 a.m.
The Madonna fans argue they "suffered actual and consequential damages, including but not limited to loss of consideration paid for the tickets caused by the inability or inconvenience to attend a concert starting after 10:30 p.m." They also claim that the other named defendants in the suit, Barclays Center and Live Nation, raked in more than $10 million for the series of shows.
On one hand, this lawsuit is perfect. The shitty concert experience is pervasive. You pay $155 for a ticket (including $73 in "delivery fees" or whatever) and then another $25 for a Budweiser. Then you cram yourself into a crowd and wait…and wait…and wait…and you glance at your watch and think, ah geez it's a Wednesday night, what is happening here I gotta work in eight hours can we get this show on the road? People are being gouged up the wazoo—someone must take a stand!
On the other hand…this is New York Fuckin' City baby! You don't like the fact that Madonna needs her extra beauty rest so she can deliver two-plus hours of straight hits that leave you vibrating from being in the presence of an actual living icon? Go home and fall asleep to Roku City! Or better yet, move there!
The plaintiffs are asking for a jury trial. Madonna hasn't yet responded to the lawsuit, which you can read in full here. But she has been sued for lateness before at least twice, and the suits have been dismissed. "There’s something that you all need to understand," Madonna said about the earlier claims. "And that is, that a queen is never late."
And here are some links to keep you up past your bedtime:
And finally, a good TikTok about the Tunnels:
Image credit: Vladimir / Flickr
