Entertainment
Madonna sued for unwanted sexual exposure during concert
Madonna has been hit with a new lawsuit about her Celebration tour.
In a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, May 29, concertgoer Justen Lipeles alleged that he and the audience were exposed to unwanted sexual content during her March 7 concert at the Kia Forum in LA, according to court documents obtained by Entertainment weekly.
Lipeles accused the pop icon, 65, and tour organizers of negligent misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract and false advertising in his filing, claiming the audience had to wait more than an hour before taking the stage. The concert was supposed to start at 8:30 p.m., but didn’t start until 10 p.m., Lipeles claimed.
In addition, Lipeles claimed that the audience was subjected to “pornography” without warning, including “topless women on stage simulating sexual acts.” He also claimed that Madonna turned off the air conditioning during the concert, causing him to become ill in the sweltering heat, and that the “Like a Virgin” singer lip-synced during part of her performance when the audience was promised a live show. .
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“Forcing consumers to wait for hours in hot, uncomfortable arenas and exposing them to pornography without warning is a demonstration of Madonna’s flippant disrespect for her fans,” the complaint said, according to EW.
We weekly has contacted Madonna’s team for comment.
Lipeles’ lawsuit against the seven-time Grammy Award winner is similar to the complaint filed by concertgoers Michael Fellows And Jonathan Hadden in January after the couple attended a show the month before.
In their lawsuit, they stated that the show was scheduled to start at 8:30 PM, but they did not see the singer take the stage until “between 10:45 PM and 11:00 PM.” The two men accused Madonna, promoter Live Nation and the venue of “unscrupulous, unfair and/or deceptive business practices” by listing an 8:30 PM start time.
They also complained about the delayed show that ended around 1 a.m., causing them to experience problems with “limited public transportation, limited number of rides and/or higher costs for public and private transportation.”
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In response to the lawsuit, Live Nation and Madonna’s longtime manager said: Guy Osearytold CNN in a statement: “The shows began as planned in North America at Barclays in Brooklyn, with the exception of a technical issue on December 13 during soundcheck. This caused a delay that was well documented in press reports at the time. We intend to vigorously defend this case.”
Madonna has faced similar lawsuits before. During her 2019 Madame X-Tourshe was sued several times for starting concerts too late.
The Celebration tour was originally scheduled for July 2023, but was postponed after Madonna was hospitalized a month earlier due to a bacterial infection. The tour finally kicked off in London on October 14, 2023 and ran through April 26 in Mexico City.
