Justen Lipeles, a concertgoer, has filed a suit against pop icon Madonna. According to court documents obtained on Wednesday by , the 65-year old singer is named as a defendant in this case. She’s also joined by Live Nation and four California venues.
Lipeles claims that Madonna exposed her audience to “pornography” without warning, including “topless woman on stage simulating sexual acts” in a hot and uncomfortable environment. He alleges that Madonna demanded to turn off the air conditioning, which caused him to get physically sick due to the hot conditions.
Lipeles also claims that Madonna lip-synced her performance, and started the show over an hour after the advertised start time of 8:30 p.m. The suit follows a previous lawsuit against the singer for an alleged late show at Brooklyn, New York earlier in the year.
In connection with Madonna’s performance on March 7, at the Kia Forum, Los Angeles, the plaintiff seeks damages for negligent misrepresentation and intentional infliction, false advertising, as well as breach of contract. The lawsuit also names Live Nation and Forum Entertainment as defendants. Lipeles alleges that the California concerts of Madonna began later than advertised.
We have reached out to Madonna’s representatives but received no response. Acrisure Arena has also declined to comment at this time. Lipeles Law Group attorneys revealed that the plaintiff brought his sister, aged 11, to the concert. They added, “Imagine bringing your daughter, age 11, to a concert.” The women are topless when they remove their tops in the middle. The women then act out sexual situations, including cunnilingus and digital penetration. “This is without warning anyone who may be offended, especially those who are bringing children to the concert.”
The statement continued: “Justen had brought his sister of 11 years old, who was stunned. For many hours, everyone was made to sit in a sort of sauna-like environment. Madonna was not joking when she insisted on the AC staying off. When people complained, Madonna said that she would not turn the AC back on, and if the audience didn’t like the heat, they could take off their clothes. The people were in physical discomfort and were sweating profusely. “In other words, thousands of people paid to watch live porn including children, without warning, while they sat and suffered.” Lipeles’ lawyers have noted that they will be amending the complaint in a slight way.
It is not the first instance that Madonna has been accused of a late start at one of her concerts. Responding to a separate New York complaint, her lawyers, Live Nation and Barclays Center, argued that concertgoers should not be able to predict the start and end of a show based on information printed on tickets. In a previous document, they said that “reasonable concertgoers” also knew that concert lengths can vary depending on a number of factors.
Madonna’s Celebration Tour ended on a historic note, despite the legal issues. She broke the record of the biggest audience ever for an artist to perform a solo concert at Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro. The show was free and attracted a whopping 1.6 million people.