Madonna is facing yet another lawsuit over her hit Celebration tour – but this time it isn’t just for her time-keeping.
A number of Madonna fans are already taking legal action against the Queen of Pop due to her fast-and-loose approach to stage times, after several shows on her recent world jaunt seeing her taking to the stage hours later than billed.
However, this time around it’s the racy content of the show that someone has taken issue with.
According to legal papers seen by People magazine, a concert-goer who attended one of Madonna’s shows in California back in February was so unhappy with some of the show’s more sexually-charged moments that they’re suing the Grammy winner and tour promoters Live Nation.
The lawsuit accuses Madonna and Live Nation of “purposely and deceptively” misrepresenting the show’s content, claiming fans were “subjected” to “pornography without warning” and “forced to watch topless women” and “sexual acts”.
Now, if anyone has followed Madonna’s career even slightly in the past four decades will know her live shows have tended to take a steamy turn at times.
The Celebration Tour did feature topless dancers of different genders during her Like A Prayer performance, while she and a performer dressed as her younger self recreated the controversial “simulated masturbation” sequence from her Blonde Ambition Tour in another part of the show.
Back in the early 90s, Madonna made global headlines thanks to this section of her Blonde Ambition Tour – which even led to her being threatened with arrest unless she removed the offending routine when she took the show to Toronto.
Madonna being Madonna, she performed the number as choreographed despite the police presence, as documented in her 1991 documentary In Bed With Madonna.
According to People, this latest lawsuit does also mention Madonna’s tardiness, as well as the “hot and uncomfortable temperature” of the venue, accusing her of both “unfair, unlawful, deceptive business practices” and “flippant disrespect for her fans”.
HuffPost UK has contacted Madonna’s team for comment.
The Celebration Tour came to an end after almost seven months on the road with a one-off show in Brazil at the beginning of May.
Madonna’s free Brazil concert was attended by more than 1.6 million people, making it the biggest ever crowd for a stand-alone concert and for any female artist in music history.
The Vogue singer’s tour had been due to begin much earlier in 2023, but was postponed after she contracted a life-threatening “bacterial infection” that left her in intensive care.