Pop star Madonna sued by fans after concert 'started more than two hours late'

Two Madonna fans have filed a lawsuit against the singer, accusing her of inconveniencing concertgoers after showing up hours late for her gig.

Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden claim the 65-year-old didn't take to the stage at Brooklyn's Barclays Center until 10.45pm on 13 December 2023 - two hours and 15 minutes after the scheduled 8.30pm start time, Sky News' US partner site NBC reported the civil action as saying.

The delayed start meant the show didn't finish until around 1am, leaving fans with "limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing" options or "increased public and private transportation costs at that late hour," lawyers Richard Klass and Marcus Corwin wrote.

As the show was on a Wednesday evening, the lawsuit went on to claim that many people who attended had to "get up early to go to work and/or take care of their family responsibilities the next day".

The Queen of Pop is listed as a defendant under the name Madonna Louise Ciccone, along with event promoters Live Nation and the Barclays Center.

Mr Fellows and Mr Hadden claimed they had "suffered actual harm" because of Madonna's lateness which include, but are "not limited" to, "annoyance, harassment, time, frustration and anger", NBC reported the lawsuit as saying.

The show was part of the hitmaker's Celebration Tour, which kicked off at London's O2 Arena in October last year.

The tour marks 40 years of the singer in the music industry and was originally supposed to begin in Canada before it was postponed after the singer came down with a serious bacterial infection in late June.

Delayed starts to the concert have been a reoccurring theme throughout the rescheduled tour, with the star taking to the stage between 9.50pm and 10.30pm, in Boston, Toronto and Detroit during her January shows, according to the Setlist.fm, a website that keeps track of songs and timings of major concerts.