‘Celebration Tour’: Madonna Vows to Fight “False Advertising” Lawsuit / Removes Luther Vandross’ Image from AIDS Tribute After His Estate’s Demands

Madonna may be speeding through her critically and commercially acclaimed ‘Celebration Tour‘ quicker than a ray of light, but – as we reported here – it’s still taking her too long to get to the stage to crank out her hits.

So long, in fact, a group of concertgoers announced intent to take the ‘Take a Bow‘ singer to court for her excessive tardiness.

Look inside to see how Madge responded to the news.

Accusing the Pop icon of false advertising and negligent misrepresentation due to starting her concerts after 10:30pm despite the tickets advertising an 8:30pm start time, the plaintiffs allege the tardiness caused significant inconvenience due to them being “confronted with limited public transportation, limited ride-sharing, and/or increased public and private transportation costs.”

Taking to press not long after the suit’s announcement, Madonna – via a statement released by her management – responded to the disgruntled concertgoers.

“The shows opened in North America at Barclays in Brooklyn as planned, with the exception of a technical issue Dec. 13 during soundcheck,” tour company Live Nation and Madonna’s management said in a statement. “This caused a delay that was well documented in press reports at the time. We intend to defend this case vigorously.”

The tardiness lawsuit isn’t the only headline-grabbing snafu the global jaunt has encountered.

More recently Madge and team were slammed by the estate of the late legend Luther Vandross for including his photo during a segment of her show that tributes people who succumbed to HIV/AIDS over the years.

While performing her 1986 #1 hit ‘Live to Tell,’ Madge sings in front of screens that flash the images of familiar faces like Freddie Mercury, Rock Hudson, Eazy-E, and others.

When Vandross’ estate found out his picture was among them, they immediately reached out to her management to rectify.

“Luther Vandross passed away in 2005 due to complications from a stroke suffered two years earlier,” a rep for his estate said. “While we appreciate Madonna’s recognition of those lives lost to AIDS, Luther was NEVER diagnosed with AIDS or the HIV Virus. We’re not sure where she or her production team received false medical information claiming otherwise.”

She has since removed his image from the segment.

[photo sources: Getty Images/AP Images]