Madonna's team have responded to a lawsuit filed by concertgoers over the delayed start to her show.
The Vogue singer was sued earlier this month by fans Michael Fellows and Jonathan Hadden, who claimed she left them "stranded in the middle of the night" and "confronted with limited public transportation" after starting her concert in Brooklyn two hours late on 13 December.
Madonna's management and tour company Live Nation explained the reason behind the delay in a statement on Wednesday.
"Madonna's just completed, sold out 2023 Celebration Tour in Europe received rave reviews," Madonna Management and Live Nation said in a joint statement, according to Entertainment Tonight. "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."
They added, "We intend to defend this case vigorously."
In the lawsuit, Fellows and Hadden claimed they wouldn't have bought tickets to Madonna's show if they knew it would start at 10.30pm instead of 8.30pm.
"Defendants' actions constitute not just a breach of their contracts... but also a wanton exercise in false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, and unfair and deceptive trade practices," the lawsuit read, according to TMZ.
They claimed organisers "knew or should have known" that the concerts would not start at 8:30pm because of alleged past instances of Madonna taking the stage late.
The Queen of Pop is next scheduled to perform in Philadelphia on Thursday night as part of her Celebration Tour.
