Madonna’s Late Start Times at NYC ‘Celebration Tour’ Concerts Spark Class Action Lawsuit

New to ClassAction.org? Read our Newswire Disclaimer

New York City concertgoers have filed a proposed class action lawsuit against Madonna, Live Nation and the Barclays Center after the “Queen of Pop” started her shows last month two hours late.

Want to stay in the loop on class actions that matter to you? Sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.

According to the 18-page lawsuit, Madonna’s Celebration Tour concerts at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn were scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. on December 13, 14 and 16, but the singer didn’t take the stage until after 10:30 p.m. on all three nights.

The plaintiffs—two New York residents who attended the December 13 show—say the defendants failed to warn them that the concert would start much later than advertised, and would not have bought tickets had they known they wouldn’t be leaving the venue until after 1:00 a.m.

Leaving at that late hour meant that most attendees had to deal with limited options for public transportation and ride-sharing, the complaint notes.

“In addition, many ticketholders who attended concerts on a weeknight had to get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day,” the suit says.

The case notes that Madonna has a “long history” of starting concerts late, pointing out that concerts for her 2016 Rebel Heart Tour, 2019-2020 Madame X Tour and shows for prior tours “continuously” began over two hours after their scheduled start times.

“By the time of the [NYC] concerts’ announcements, Madonna had demonstrated flippant difficulty in ensuring a timely or complete performance, and Defendants were aware that any statement as to a start time for a show constituted, at best, optimistic speculation,” the complaint contends.

As such, the lawsuit accuses Madonna, Live Nation and the Barclays Center of “false advertising” and “negligent misrepresentation” since the defendants allegedly knew the pop star “would most certainly not” take the stage at 8:30 p.m.

In fact, the filing says, New York wasn’t the only city kept waiting for Madonna’s show to begin. Celebration Tour shows later that month in Boston and Washington D.C. also saw several-hour delays, the suit relays.

The plaintiffs claim Madonna’s tardiness caused them “annoyance, harassment, time, frustration, and anger,” and that the defendants should have offered concertgoers a refund for their tickets, which cost, on average, between $100 and $200.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased a ticket or became a ticketholder for Madonna’s Celebration Tour concerts at the Barclays Center through Ticketmaster, the venue’s box office or a ticket reseller.

Get class action lawsuit news sent to your inbox – sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter here.