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Earlier this year Madonna was slapped with two lawsuits from concertgoers in New York and Washington DC, respectively, over shows on her Celebration Tour starting more than two hours late. Now West Coast fans are entering the legal fray, with plaintiff Justen Lipeles filing a class action lawsuit for himself and “all individuals in California who were deceived and lulled into purchasing expensive tickets for Madonna’s concert!” Ok, I added the exclamation point, but this CA case is really upping the ante. Not only are Lipeles & Co. suing over another late start, but they’re alleging Madonna roasted them by refusing to put the AC on, and exposed them to lewd and lascivious imagery on stage. Plus she lip-synced!! They cited all of these misdeeds as Madge’s “flippant disrespect for her fans.”
The charges: The plaintiff, Justen Lipeles, filed a class action lawsuit on his behalf and that of all individuals in California who were deceived and lulled into purchasing expensive tickets for Madonna’s concert. He slammed the music icon, her promoter Live Nation, and other organizations involved in her Celebration Tour for six crimes — breach of written contract, negligent misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false advertising, negligence/negligent infliction of emotional distress, and unfair competition.
Hot & bothered: Lipeles claimed the defendants, specifically Madonna and Live Nation, “purposely and deceptively withheld informing ticket purchasers” about crucial issues while promoting her Celebration Tour. Because of this lack of information, he arrived at Kia Forum early on March 7, 2024, expecting the concert to start at 8:30 pm, as promised. Instead, the show started after 10:00pm, and things worsened inside the venue because Madonna allegedly demanded the air conditioning be turned off. Lipeles noted he and other fans were profusely sweating and eventually became physically ill due to the heat. According to the lawsuit, the heat became unbearable to the point where fans voiced their complaints about the uncomfortable atmosphere. However, Madonna cold-heartedly dismissed their discomfort and allegedly told them to take their clothes off.
Lip-synching & topless dancers & flippant disrespect, oh my! Lipeles noted that their fans’ woes didn’t end there, as the money they had spent to see Madonna perform live was wasted on her “apparent” lip-synching. Then, they were “forced to watch topless women on stage simulating sex acts. … Forcing consumers to wait hours in hot, uncomfortable arenas and subjecting them to pornography without warning is demonstrative of Madonna’s flippant disrespect for her fans,” Lipeles argued, noting that it felt like he was watching a pornographic film being made.
Warning – the concert you are purchasing a ticket for may not begin on time: Lipeles argued that Madonna and her tour promoters were aware of her habits; therefore, they should have informed fans about her possibly starting a concert late. He claimed they did so in 2019 at her Madame X Tour, where they gave consumers reasonable notice of a later start time.
Lipeles wants damages for himself and other ‘aggrieved’ fans: He stressed that they deserved compensatory damages for breach of written contract since the concert didn’t start at the agreed-upon time. Lipeles’ demands also included pre- and post-judgment interests, costs of the lawsuit, and reasonable attorney fees. The plaintiff asked for injunctive relief ordering the defendants’ “unfair business acts and practices” to cease and restitution in the amount he and other fans paid for tickets plus the disgorgement of the profits Madonna’s corner made from those transactions.
[From The Blast via Yahoo! Entertainment]
No AC at a densely-populated event?! That has to be a violation of some government code, surely, if not a crime against humanity. That’s a serious health risk for the audience (it’s been less than a year since a fan died at an overheated Taylor Swift concert), but also think of all her dancers working they’re patooties off. No wonder they’re topless! Madonna has everyone literally burning up for her! Just imagine how long the disclaimer is gonna be if this plaintiff is successful in forcing promoters to issue a warning to fans: “Please be advised, in purchasing a ticket to this performance you are acknowledging and consenting to a long, unpredictable wait time for the show to commence, uncomfortably verging on unhealthily hot conditions throughout, and being both exposed to and encouraged to take part in nudity. Music makes the people come together.”
Photos credit: J King/Dilson Silva/Backgrid, Getty
