Madonna angers Australian fans for showing up late to Rebel Heart concerts

SHE already kept her Australian fans waiting for 23 years, now Madonna is under fire for forcing them to sit tight an extra few hours. But she has a solution.

Please Credit PICS MARC ROBERTSON. Madonna rocked a Brisbane crowd after keeping tem waiting until 11:30pm.

SHE already kept her Aussie fans waiting for 23 years, now Madonna is copping some serious flak for forcing them to sit tight an extra few hours late at night.

If you’re headed to the last dates of her Rebel Heart tour in Brisbane tonight and in Sydney on the weekend, then it’s a fairly safe bet you can shimmy over about an hour after the scheduled start time and still get what you paid for — heck, even Madonna is advising you to.

Madonna is keeping her Aussie concertgoers waiting. Picture: Marc Robertson

At Brisbane Entertainment Centre on Wednesday night, disappointed ticketholders — those who didn’t give up — were biding their time for more than two hours before the superstar emerged at 11.20pm.

In Melbourne, fans were outraged when the Queen of Pop kept them waiting for almost four hours in the rain for her intimate Tears Of A Clown one-off show at the Forum Theatre.

Some drenched superfans had been camped out overnight in anticipation, but the doors to the venue did not open until close to midnight.

Send in the Clowns..........there ought to be Clowns! 💘 #tearsofaclown. pic.twitter.com/W8vtHtHw4g

— Madonna (@Madonna) March 10, 2016

Earlier that evening, Kate McGrath tweeted: “So the ticket says 8pm ... Um it’s 10.52pm ... Are we doing this in another time zone I’m not familiar with?”

The answer of course is yes, you’re on ‘Maddona time’.

For her next show at Rod Laver Arena, the Material Girl singer emerged 45 minutes late — a valiant effort, all things considered.

Fans wait outside the Forum Theatre for Madonna’s special Tears Of A Clown performance. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Madge addressed the brewing anger to her fans who had paid up to $509 to see her perform live on a weeknight.

“I’m hardly ever late. It’s you people that get here early that’s the problem,” she joked.
“Just come late and I won’t have to come early. We’ve got three more shows and we want to fix the problem.”

Across the ditch, disgruntled Kiwi fans with tickets to her Auckland show were kept waiting for 90 minutes before she took the stage earlier this month.

One Twitter user wrote: “Get on with the show already @Madonna we’ve paid to see ya. What are you waiting for.”

Madonna performs at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre again tonight and at Sydney’s Allphones Arena on Saturday and Sunday.

Madonna told her fans they arrive too early. Picture: Marc Robertson

On top of the criticism for her concert delays, Madonna has been hitting back at accusations she had been under the influence during her Australian performances. She has also been locked in a raging custody battle with her ex-husband Guy Ritchie over their son Rocco.

The 57-year-old diva has a reputation for showing up late, but as do many other big-name artists — and their Australian fans are not immune.

Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose repeatedly takes his fans to breaking point for his continuous tardiness. Rihanna was criticised for hitting the stage 80 minutes late in Adelaide in 2013. That same year, Justin Bieber was 70 minutes for a school night concert in Melbourne.

And perhaps the worst offender: Grace Jones was due to perform at midnight at a New Year’s Eve 1998 party in Melbourne. But she didn’t end up emerging until 4am.

Originally published as Madonna angers Australian fans for showing up late to Rebel Heart concerts