Pop icon Madonna is firing back at a lawsuit where a pair of fans sued her over a delayed concert start time.
The lawsuit was filed in a Brooklyn federal court earlier this month for a show on December 13 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The plaintiffs allege the concert, which was already rescheduled from July after Madonna was hospitalized due to a bacterial infection, started more than two hours later than the original 8:30 p.m. start time.
| READ: Madonna Fans Sue Over Delayed Concert Start Times: ‘Had to Get Up Early for Work’ |
According to the suit, Fellows and Hadden claimed they would have never purchased a ticket if they “had they known that the concerts would start after 10:30 p.m.,” noting that the singer did not notify ticketholders that the show would start much later than the start time on their ticket.
Additionally, the pair said the delayed start time affected their transportation after the show, claiming they were left “stranded in the middle of the night” with limited transportation options and increased ride share prices. They said the delay also caused harm as they had to “get up early and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day.”
Madonna, Live Nation, and Barclays Center were named in the suit for alleged negligent misrepresentation.
Now, Madonna has filed a motion to dismiss the suit, challenging that the concertgoers were inconvenienced by the delayed start time. The motion said tickets did not advertise that Madonna would actually take the stage at 8:30 p.m., “and 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.”
“A reasonable concertgoer would understand that the venue’s doors will open at or before the ticketed time … and the headline act will take the stage later in the evening,” the motion reads. “Fans got just what they paid for: a full-length, high-quality show by the Queen of Pop.”
Madonna’s camp also pointed out a Facebook post by Hadden from December 14 where he praised the “incredible” performance, saying he’s “never missed a Madonna Tour!” The claim notes “Madonna fans, like Mr. Hadden, would not expect Madonna to appear onstage at the printed 8:30 p.m. event time, alleging that she has a ‘years-long history’ of ‘arriving several hours late to prior concerts.’”
