Madonna being sued by fans for “wanton exercise in false advertising” after starting concerts late
A pair of fans are upset that Madonna started a recent New York concert two hours late
Aux News Madonna
When you attend a live performance of some kind, it’s generally accepted that the event will not necessarily start right at the time it’s supposed to. Maybe the performers are just enjoying their time backstage, picking through a bowl of M&Ms to make sure the right color has been removed, or maybe they want to keep the audience on their toes to build up their expectations. But after Madonna took the stage at 10:30 for a New York show in December that was supposed to start two hours earlier, a pair of fans named Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden decided to sue Madonna, Live Nation, and the Barclays Center for “unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices.”
This comes from Variety, which says the duo also cites late start times for Madonna’s other shows at the Barclays Center last month, as well as late start times for her 2016 and 2019-2020 tours, claiming it’s part of a “long history of arriving and starting her concerts late” which constitutes a “wanton exercise in false advertising.” The fans also say that, due to the concert’s late start and late finish, they found “limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs” after the show. Now, because of this alleged history of “negligent misrepresentation” about Madonna’s concerts, the duo is seeking to turn this into a class-action lawsuit.
Variety says that Madonna and her team have yet to respond to this, but it’s also worth noting that Madonna’s recent touring schedule was temporarily put on hold after what she called a “strange bacterial infection” that almost killed her over the summer. At one of those very Barclays Center shows in New York, Madonna told the crowd that it was a “fucking miracle” that she made it back to performing at all.
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No support act to fill time?
“Bob the Drag Queen — the popular Season 8 winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2016 — has been opening for another queen, Madonna, on her “Celebration Tour” that kicks off its US leg at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Wednesday night.” New York PostI guess Bob couldn’t drag his show out to two hours.It’s weird that she doesn’t have another band. Maybe no one wants to:/
“So, uh, while Madge is still gettin’ dressed, uh…how about this humidity, huh? “Jesus Christ, I’ve got a penis and it doesn’t take me this long to put on a pair of vinyl hotpants.”
Poor Bob 🙁
“Boats and ho’s! Boats and ho’s! Gotta have me…”
Google search results were disappointing. Why men got to be so nasty?
Was referencing John C. Reilly frantically trying to entertain an increasingly hostile mob at the Catalina Fucking Wine Mixer after the booked act bolted the stage. Like poor Bob.
Your powers of association are prodigous. I didn’t see that either.
I’m guessing googling ‘boats and hos’ took to you straight to the (admittedly hysterical) music video.ETA: Doesn’t hurt that I catch sequences of Step Brothers on cable pretty much every other weekend, so my frame of reference is probably skewed
Yeah, I ended up on the boat. “Flesh arrow?” I get that guys think it’s funny. The offensive part, for me, is Will Ferrell. Like George Castanza’s dad yells at him, “I canstandzya!”
She should’ve hired a Madonna knock-off to do the opening show… like Lady GaGa. Uh-oh!
> It’s weird that she doesn’t have another band. Maybe no one wants to:/I bet GWAR would open for Madonna. …If she asked.But the act I really would like to see GWAR open for is Taylor Swift. I would go not to watch the band, but to watch the Swifties. Who knows what would happen!
I mean, in this case, would an opening or supporting act count toward the “start time”. In most cases where there’s an opening or support act, it’s understood that they have X amount of time to play, and then the headliner goes on after, but it isn’t considered “late” because the opening act’s time was accounted for. It seems like Madonna is just letting 2+ hours go by between her opener and her performance.
That’s my take. If there’s an opening act that plays from 8 to 8:45 then I’m probably annoyed if she’s not on until close to 10, but at least I’ve been entertained for nearly half the time. Pee, refill drink, wait for main event.But two hours of nothing is a different story. That’s a lot of peeing and drinking.
I too need exercise after eating too many wontons.Anyway, I didn’t read the headline.
I think you got the gist.
Insert Lionel Hutz quote here
This is the most blatant use of false advertising sing my suit against the film “The Never Ending Story”!
No, Madge has been accused of wanton exercise in false advertising, not Wanton Destruction of Precious Antique Cans (Penal Code Section 618A).
I’m assuming they stayed for the show. So not sure you can sue if you got what you paid for. Wouldn’t be surprised if Mads doesn’t even hear about this. They’re not going to get anything but attention. All the same, entertainers shouldn’t do this or they should give the audience a good reason. Maybe after enough time waiting one tweet (X) could send everyone out the door demanding a refund.
All the same, entertainers shouldn’t do this or they should give the audience a good reason.I saw Linkin Park at Pepsi Center in 2011. The opener was 90 minutes late going on. I texted the arena and asked why. The response was the tour buses were delayed by a storm in the Rockies and LP decided they did not want to cancel or postpone. Put that info up on the screen and we’re all good.Madonna is just acting like a diva.
Yes, that was a decent thing to do.Madonna is a dick.Plain and simple. Her ego has gotten the better of her. I’m a feminist but that doesn’t mean women can’t be assholes. A lot of women are mad as f*ck and that’s righteous anger. But she’s rich and sheltered and shouldn’t be exorcising her demons at the expense of her fans.
I think the real issue is what kind of damages could be claimed here. If you saw the show then you got your ticket price worth. Uber surge pricing or cab fare if the subway was no longer running?Diva behavior alone is probably not grounds for legal liability.
I’m curious what actual time the doors and start were, as well as how many openers and how long they were on. In short: how long were these people actually staring at an empty stage? Depending on those factors, a headliner taking the stage two hours after lights go down isn’t that wild.
According to setlist.fm her average start time is 3 hours after doors open. That’s excessive unless you have at least a couple opening acts. The bigger issue as noted is that means folks who took mass transit are screwed in cities where it doesn’t run past midnight.
I just saw her in Detroit. Doors were at 730, show was scheduled to start at 830. There are no openers, Bobthe Drag Queen is more of an MC than anything else. She finished at 115am, no encore
This goes to show that you should always bring my laptop, headset, and ringlight so you can catch up on emails and hold important meetings with key partners while waiting to finally see Madonna perform “La Isla Bonita” live.
And here I’ve just been using a Madonna concert background in my video calls like a sucker, when I could have actually been at a Madonna concert the whole time!
I bring kirivinokurjr’s laptop with me everywhere I go for this very reason.
It’s a concert. I’ve never been to one that started on time. The only thing that keeps them reasonably close is local noise ordinances that prevent them from going late.This settlement negotiation is going to consist of Madonna’s lawyers asking them “how many hours do you need to bill before we pay you a token amount to go away?”
Really? Bruce Springsteen, Built to Spill, Bob Mould, Guided by Voices, Pixies, Soundgarden, Grizzly Bear, and Dinosaur Jr were all bang on time, whereas Vampire Weekend actually started early. Guess they’re more punctual when they are playing in Australia.
I heard once that Prince started a concert so late in Melbourne, that he only got to play for 30 minutes before he was told to shut it down, he had his time. This was like twenty years ago I was told this so I have no idea if it’s true, but I hope it is.
I’d be amused if I heard someone missed a concert because they arrived right on time but the band played two hours early.
Snoop Dogg was 2 hours late the time I saw him. Everyone was beyond stoned by the time he hit the stage.
what kinds of concerts you been going to, doc?i think 95% of the concerts i have been to have started on time, or within the hour of said start time.
My local venue has been starting shows right on time lately, it’s friggen awesome.Heck the act that opened for The Wood Bros. started like 2 minutes early.
My locals are also very punctual – the only shows that start late are ones at the largest arenas/stadiums and even then most of those start within 30 minutes of the official start. But I’m also savvy enough to check setlist.fm for info before shows.
I’ve definitely been to shows where the band starts 30-45 minutes late but never more than an hour that I can remember. The kind of bands I see actually need their fans to keep seeing their shows though, Madonna is so rich she can’t actually give a shit.
I’ve been to plenty that have started late, but 2 hours is fucking ridiculous.
I’ve been to quite a few concerts, and while they don’t start EXACTLY on time, I don’t think I’ve ever been to one that started 2+ hours late. That just seems insulting to fans. I don’t know why anyone would accept that as the standard.This is why I enjoy music festivals, everyone only gets a limited time on stage, so they have to keep it tight, and even the closers usually have to get it done before the local noise ordinances kick in.
I haven’t been to a concert in recent memory that DIDN’T start on time…
A niche act to be sure, but Richard Cheese starts ON TIME. Like literally the exact minute. He prides himself that if the tickets say the show is at 8pm, the band is on stage at 8pm, not 8:01.
Even G’N’R has gotten their shit together over the years and they start on time these day. I’m just more surprised she pulled this nonsense in NYC because if artists go over curfew they pay a hefty and I mean hefty fine per minute with the unions. Some estimates are up to $10K per minute.
What a weird way to say that you can’t understand the difference between 15 minutes and 2 hours.
“I’ve never been to one that started on time.”Eek. I can’t think of a single one that started more than a few minutes late.
I expect late – I do NOT expect two hours late, even from someone as self-involved as Madonna.
I’m wondering exactly how they’re pleading the two hours late. Was it supposed to start at 8:30 with her? Were there no opening acts? If the show started at 8:30 with the opening act and then there was like an hour wait after the opener before she came on, I’m not sure that’s technically starting the show late.
I have to think it was two hours of nothingness. An opening act completely invalidates any “late” claim.
I think so too. If that’s really the case and she has a history of this behavior I’d be pissed too.
Starting a few minutes late is one thing. Starting at 10:30? Fuck that.
Agree. Concerts shouldn’t start with a big old F-you.
I can’t imagine spending an arm and a leg to see a performer that has such well known contempt for her audience that making them wait two hours is on the short end of the spectrum for what she’s been known to do for years. As I’ve heard it’s usually three hours wait.
Well, these guys will never be Deadheads.
According to setlist.fm she went on ~3 hours after the doors opened at those shows which is…totally normal for any headliner.
I can’t believe people are still paying money to go see this.
Madonna, age 21 going on 7o.
Is she wearing a Depends?
Adding to my own comment. That’s so bad I can’t stop looking at it. Is she demented??
This is why I’ve never been a concert guy. Cobain, Elvis and Hendrix could all come back and headline a show and I wouldn’t wait two hours.I have to keep to my pooping and masturbating schedule
I really hope those are two different schedules.
I don’t judge you. Don’t judge me
“They bought their tickets, they knew what they were getting into. I say, let ‘em wait!”
If this lawsuit is successful then lauryn hill & morrissey will be homeless 2 weeks into their next tours
two hours late*laughs in 90s GNR fan*
Lol you’re old and poor.
Lauryn Hill fans:
Guns N Roses would like a word:
Surprisingly enough Guns N Roses does start shows on time these days.
Not at Aftershock last fall they didn’t. They were only 45 mins late, so I guess maybe that is on time for them.
I don’t go to big arena concerts anymore because I feel like I’m too old (is early 40s too old?) and they’re loud and crowded, and parking sucks, and they are just too late for my old ass. lol But I couldn’t pass up Green Day this summer (and the tickets are surprisingly cheap!) so I’m hoping the opening acts don’t drag on too long. I don’t have concerns about it starting on time, but it starts at like 8 or 8:30 and there are two opening acts! Then Green Day is performing two full albums so it’s going to be a late night. I’m exhausted already. I think I’ll arrive late and skip the openers because I don’t really give a shit about Rancid or Smashing Pumpkins anyway.Cool story.
I wouldn’t say it’ll be a late night, more like an early start. I would imagine they’ll play until 11 as to probably make curfew. I was at their Irving Plaza show last night and they did 26 songs and packed it all in about 1 hour and 30/45 minutes.
It’s downtown so I don’t think there’s a curfew issue. If there is it’s midnight (I was at a show downtown some years ago that was already past 11 and still had several performers left so I just left because it was getting too long for me lol), but midnight might not apply to this venue either so idk. But if they can get it all in by midnight or 11 I’d be thrilled.In 2018 or 2019 I went to Pilgrimage festival and it’s directly by a neighborhood and the Killers cut off abruptly at 9pm. I wish they had planned better and started earlier get a full set w/ encore in.
Anyone seen the show ‘Corporate’? There’s an episode where one of the main characters wants to prove he’s still young and cool, so he agrees to go to a concert that he discovers doesn’t start until midnight. He spends the whole night trying to convince himself he does want to go, and then as he’s about to leave it starts raining, which he uses as an excuse to stay home, much to his relief.It’s an episode I find very relatable at this point in my life.
I’ve never heard of it but it sounds like my life. A couple of years ago I went to a concert with a friend, one of those throwback R&B reunion concerts with a bunch of performers. I, not having been to a concert in nearly a decade, stupidly told the babysitter I’d be home by midnight because how could it possibly last that late?! It was 11:30 and there was still like half the lineup left to go. I finally just had to leave because there was no telling when it would end. I felt bad because my friend left with me even though I told her it was fine if she stayed and I could get back to my car fine by myself. So I’m going to Green Day alone so I can arrive when I want and leave when I want without guilt.Anyway, all that to say I’m very proud of that character for bailing on a midnight concert. That’s insane.
If this goes through, Lauryn Hill better call up her attorneys real quick
I don’t know if this rises to “class action”. Moreso because there may have been legitimate medical issues.I do know that it sucks if the artist is late. I’ve been to shows where a band member was pretty definitively fired because, say, they didn’t show until the last ten minutes of a set. I’ve also been in a band where we’ve been asked by the venue to push start times – worst was over an hour as there was something going on with their end that they asked for multiple extensions. Favorite was the near hour delay caused when a newly reopened venue found out that multiple animals had been nesting in their soundboard and it took a while to strip and clean it.I figure it comes down to how their overall perfomance history has been. If it’s an abberation, then it’s just life. The overwhelming number of stage performers out there are in this group. Sometimes late happens regardless of your best efforts.Someone simply can’t be bothered to start shows on time as a habit? OK, that sucks.
Sawr her perform at Coachella in the mid 00’s. She was like an hour late and only played like 2 songs. People were piiiiissed.