The material girl is being asked yet again to produce material evidence (in her defense).
For the second time this year, Madonna has been hit with a class action lawsuit over her recent tendency to start her concerts much, much later than advertised.
The new lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C. on behalf of three women who purchased tickets for Madonna’s Dec. 18 and 19 shows at Capitol One Arena. It accuses the singer of unfair or deceptive trade practices, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and negligent misrepresentation for twice appearing more than two hours late at each show.
The suit says tickets advertised a performance start time of 8:30 p.m., but on both nights Madonna didn’t start until after 10:00.
“As a result,” the filing says, “all three individual Plaintiffs who purchased their tickets in response to the Defendants’ marketing had to leave the concerts early prior to the concerts’ conclusion, therefore depriving each of them of the benefit of seeing the complete concert.”
The suit, which also names Live Nation as a defendant, says Madonna and the concert promotion powerhouse “purposely and deceptively” concealed from audiences that the singer would begin her set late. It also accuses the defendants of failing to disclose that Madonna “would lip synch much of her performance,” and of mainting “a hot and uncomfortable temperature in the venue” during the show.
“Madonna and Live Nation have publicly stated that it is not reasonable for
consumers to believe that the 8:30 start time on the ticket indicates that’s when the concert will begin and that no concerts start on the start time as advertised,” the suit says. It offers as counter evidence the examples of Live Nation-promoted Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen concerts that began on time, as well as professional sporting events and Broadway shows.
The suit also notes previous examples of Madonna being late, as well as examples of fans expressing outrage about it on social media.
The lawsuit demands a jury trial, and seeks “judgment against Defendants for actual and consequential damages, as well as costs, pre and post-judgment interest as permitted by law, and any other relief that this Court deems just and proper.”
It’s not the first time that Madonna’s habitual lateness has provoked legal action. In January, she was sued by a group of concert attendees in New York City. The singer hasn’t commented on Monday’s lawsuit but said in January she intended to “vigorously” defend herself.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
