The adage “better late than never” doesn’t quite hold true for some Madonna fans.
Two such fans allege they were misled when the December concert they attended started two hours late. Now, the pop singer’s attorney struck back, saying no injuries occurred, and have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, according to CBS News.
Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden filed the lawsuit after attending one of Madonna’s Celebration Tour shows in Brooklyn in December. Their chief complaint was the show did not start at 8:30 p.m. as advertised, per the outlet.
Barclays Center and Live Nation were also sued for “wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices.”
Fellows and Hadden said they would not have gotten the tickets if the true start time was 10:30 p.m.
“They also claimed the show’s end time of about 1 a.m. possibly inconvenienced or injured concertgoers as a result of limited transportation options and being forced to stay up later than planned,” CBS News reported.
But, according to Madonna’s lawyers, concerts don’t always start on time and she is known for starting her concerts late.
The defense attorneys also said that, according to Hadden’s Facebook post, he had “never missed a Madonna Tour” and told CNN he had “been to every Madonna tour since 1985.”
If that’s the case, the lawyers said he should have known about the late start.
“Mr. Hadden’s press interviews at best suggest he may be irritated that one of his favorite acts takes the stage later than he would prefer,” the lawyers said, adding that this was not sufficient grounds for a claim of injury.
Madonna’s lawyers also said “there was no proof the late start time injured any concertgoers, including the plaintiffs, who they argued stayed to watch the whole show instead of leaving early,” according to CBS News.
“Fans got just what they paid for: a full-length, high-quality show by the Queen of Pop,” Madonna’s lawyers said.
Madonna was also sued for starting a Miami Beach concert late in 2019.
“There’s something that you all need to understand,” Madonna told her fans during a Las Vegas concert in 2019. “And that is, that a queen is never late.”
