Madonna has been sued by a concertgoer during her Celebration World Tour, accusing her of producing “pornography without warning” and that he was “forced to watch topless women simulate sex on stage”.
In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Wednesday and seen by the Guardian, plaintiff Justen Lipeles made a series of accusations about her March 7 concert at the city’s Kia Forum venue. Live Nation, the promoter of the concert, was named as a defendant along with Madonna.
Lipelais bought four tickets for $500 (£390) each, which stated the concert would start at 8.30pm. Lipeles’ lawsuit alleges that the concert actually started at 10 p.m., claiming: “Defendants did not give Plaintiff any notice indicating that the concert would begin at a later time.”
“Per Madonna’s request, the temperature inside the Kia Forum was too hot and she refused to turn on the air conditioning,” the lawsuit continues. Lipelais “sweated profusely and became physically ill from the heat.” When fans complained about the heat, Madonna unreasonably asked them to take off their clothes.
“Furthermore, during much of the performance, it was obvious to Plaintiff that Madonna was lip-synching.
“During the performance, Plaintiff was forced to watch topless women on stage simulating sexual acts. Plaintiff felt as if she was watching a pornographic film being produced.
Lipelais sued for breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, unfair competition, false advertising and emotional distress.
Regarding the latter, the lawsuit claims Madonna’s conduct was “intentional, extreme and outrageous” and that “such conduct was conducted with the intent to cause severe emotional distress or with reckless disregard for the possibility of causing… severe emotional distress.” ”.
Lipelais is seeking compensation for damages, legal fees and a refund of concert tickets.
Madonna and Live Nation have yet to comment on the lawsuit. The Guardian has contacted representatives from all parties for comment.
The case echoes another lawsuit earlier in the Celebration Tour.
In January, New Yorkers Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden sued Madonna over her Dec. 13 concert at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, citing a late start but no alleged pornographic content. . After Madonna started her concert at 10.30pm, the pair said they were “in trouble” after leaving at 1am, with their late arrival affecting “having to get up early for work” the next day.
Madonna and Live Nation issued a statement saying they would “vigorously defend the case” and said the delay in launching was due to technical issues.
Madonna previously faced lawsuits in 2019 and 2020 for complaining about Madame X being late during her tour, but both were dismissed.
Despite Lipelais, Fellowes and Harden’s displeasure, the Celebration Tour was well received by critics and audiences, with The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis giving it a four-star review wrote that her “power seemed very strong indeed.”
After 80 shows and $225 million in ticket sales, the tour culminated with a free concert at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for some 1.6 million people.
