Madonna and Live Nation Plan to 'Vigorously' Defend Lawsuit Filed Against Them for Alleged Delayed Start Time

The Queen of Pop and Live Nation responded to a lawsuit filed by two concertgoers at one of the star's Brooklyn stops

Madonna performs during opening night of The Celebration Tour at The O2 Arena on October 14, 2023
Madonna performs in London in October 2023. Photo:

Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Madonna's team and Live Nation are speaking out against a lawsuit filed against the Queen of Pop, Brooklyn's Barclays Center and the entertainment promotion company.

"Madonna's just completed, sold out 2023 Celebration Tour in Europe received rave reviews. The shows opened in North America at Barclays in Brooklyn as planned, with the exception of a technical issue December 13th during soundcheck. This caused a delay that was well-documented in press reports at the time. We intend to defend this case vigorously," Live Nation and Madonna's management team tells PEOPLE in a statement.

Late last week the Queen of Pop, 65, was sued by two fans who accused her of "false advertising" after her Celebration Tour show at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in December began late.

In the court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the plaintiffs claim in their filing that Madonna's Dec. 13 show began at 10:30 p.m., despite tickets advertising the show would start at 8:30 p.m.

The two concertgoers accused the delay, which they claim occurred again at the following Brooklyn concerts on Dec. 14 and 16, of being a "wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices."

The plaintiffs — who are suing for unspecified damages, per the documents — claim in their filing they "would not have paid for tickets" had they known about the start time.

Following the Grammy winner's Dec. 13 concert, a source told PEOPLE that Madonna's show was only pushed by an hour despite reports she was three hours late.

The pop star was "sound-checking until the moment they did to work out" technical issues, which caused the delay, said the source.

During the show the singer powered through her full set list, though appeared to continue struggling with sound issues mid-show. At one point, she was heard telling the crowd she could hear an "echo" in her ear.

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