Concertgoer sues Madonna over show's nudity and late start, among other things

When I was in high school, my buddies and I went to see Kiss in concert at the Brown County Arena. We got there early, so we landed terrific seats in the first row of seating off the floor. Because we were early, we watched all the other concertgoers roll in.

Many of them were extremely scantily clad young ladies. It seemed they had a concert uniform — unbelievably short denim miniskirts and a black Kiss t-shirt that was cut up to be the size of a bra.

It was quite possibly the greatest concert of all time.

That was the first of six times I saw Kiss in concert. Each time, we would go early to get good seats — and take in the view, as the ladies’ outfits never changed.

Speaking of scantily clad ladies from the ‘80s and ‘90s, Madonna has just been sued by an attendee of her Celebration tour.

Justen Lipeles attended the Material Girl’s show at L.A.’s Kia Forum on March 7 of this year. Last month, he filed a complaint in Los Angeles County Superior Court accusing the pop star of negligent misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false advertising, and breach of written contract.

Lipeles alleges that attendees were subjected to “pornography without warning,” including “topless women on stage simulating sex acts.” In 1992, Madonna released a coffee table book called ‘Sex,’ which was filled with provocative and nude pictures of her. It sold over 150,000 copies on its first day in the U.S. and topped the New York Times Best Seller list for three weeks.

So, in no way would I ever minimize Lipeles’ trauma, but to claim to be subjected to nudity without warning at a Madonna concert would be like going to a Garth Brooks concert and being shocked if he wore a cowboy hat.

In addition, Lipeles asserts attendees had to endure an uncomfortable, sweltering environment. He claims that Madonna demanded the air conditioning be turned off and as a result, he became physically ill in the heat.

Finally, he claims the prima-Madonna was late — she finally took the stage after 10 p.m., despite the concert being billed as starting at 8:30.

“Forcing consumers to wait hours in hot, uncomfortable arenas and subjecting them to pornography without warning is demonstrative of Madonna’s flippant disrespect for her fans,” Lipeles’ complaint says, claiming that when Madonna at last appeared on stage, she lip-synched even though attendees had paid for a live performance.

Lipeles is not alone in being frustrated with Madonna’s punctuality. Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden attended one of her shows earlier this year in New York. They also sued the singer, accusing her of “unconscionable, unfair, and/or deceptive trade practices” after she went on stage over two hours after the show was scheduled to start.

In response, Madonna’s team cited technical issues for the delay, adding that they “intend to defend this case vigorously.” Her attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last month, writing that “no reasonable concertgoer — and certainly no Madonna fan — would expect the headline act at a major arena concert to take the stage at the ticketed event time.”

Likewise, Elizabeth Halper-Asefi, Mary Conoboy, and Nestor Monte Jr. sued Madonna, alleging she took the stage two hours late for her Washington, D.C. show in December. They claim she told the crowd at the Dec. 18 Washington, D.C. show: “I am sorry I am late … no, I am not sorry, it’s who I am … I’m always late.”

I know Madonna loves wearing skimpy or no clothes, but a watch doesn’t cover much.

Reg Wydeven is a partner with the Appleton-based law firm of McCarty Law LLP. He can be reached at pcbusiness@postcrescent.com.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Concertgoer sues Madonna over show's nudity and late start