Madonna‘s panties are in a bunch over the fact that her underwear went up on the auction block, and now she’s hoping that a judge will bang the gavel in her favor in a newly filed lawsuit.
The “Like a Virgin” singer has filed a suit against Gotta Have It! Collectibles, her former associate Darlene Lutz and others over the auction of her underwear and other personal items, saying that the items were wrongfully taken from her.
“This is an action for conversion and related causes of action arising out of Defendants’ wrongful taking of Plaintiff’s property, valuable memorabilia and highly personal items that Plaintiff’s former friend and art consultant, Darlene Lutz, and/or one or more John Doe Defendants consigned for sale at auction to GHI and/or GHRR.com–despite the fact that the memorabilia is not Defendant Lutz’s or any of the John Doe Defendants’ to sell,” the lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court on Tuesday, reads.
“After having been provided an opportunity to return Plaintiff’s property and cease its public sale, Named Defendants refused and proceeded with the sale of many pieces of Plaintiff’s property in complete disregard of Plaintiff’s rights and the harm wrought upon the public who purchased Plaintiff’s property without obtaining good and marketable title. Additionally, Named Defendants have expressed their intent to auction additional property that belongs to Plaintiff.”
Along with the singer’s scanties, the other items being wrongfully auctioned include jewelry, clothing, accessories, and personal correspondence, including a letter from her former boyfriend, deceased rapper Tupac Shakur.
In the lawsuit, Madonna concedes that Lutz’s possession of the items was initially lawful, as they were sent to Lutz’s storage facility when the singer was trying to sell one of her residences. But the two had a falling out in 2004, the lawsuit says, and have had “little or no contact” since then.
“Plaintiff was not personally aware that Defendant Lutz continued to maintain possession of numerous of Plaintiff’s belongings, at least some of which Defendant Lutz consigned for sale, offered for sale and sold at public auction,” the suit reads.
The singer obtained a court order preventing the sale of certain items in July. However, the suit says, “the Auction proceeded and items of Madonna Memorabilia that were not subject to the Court’s July 18 Order were purportedly sold.”
After the court issued the order in July, a spokesperson for Lutz and the Gotta Have Rock and Roll auction house told TheWrap that Madonna‘s legal action was “completely baseless and meritless.”
“Madonna and her legal army have taken what we believe to be a completely baseless and meritless action to temporarily halt the sale of Ms. Lutz’s legal property. We believe that her intent is nothing more than to besmirch the good reputations of the auction house and Ms. Lutz,” the spokesperson said in a statement at the time. “Madonna‘s allegations will be vigorously challenged and refuted in a court of law in due course. We are confident that the Madonna memorabilia will be back listed in a future Gotta Have Rock and Roll online auction once the legal proceeding is concluded.”
TheWrap has also reached out regarding Tuesday’s lawsuit.
The suit is seeking an injunction prohibiting the defendants from displaying her items, as well as the return of the items to Madonna, along with unspecified damages.
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Scroll through for TheWrap's look at pop stars who have made the leap to film.Frank Sinatra Sinatra became an icon for his music, but his career was far from limited to singing. He won an Oscar for his performance in "From Here to Eternity" and has dozens more film acting credits.
MGM
David Bowie David Bowie was undoubtedly one of the world's biggest rock stars, but he also had a wide-ranging acting career. From eclectic films like "The Man Who Fell to Earth" to more serious movies like the Wo...
Universal
Cher The pop icon started her music career as half of Sonny and Cher in the 1960s. The two starred in "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" in the '70s, and then Cher broke into a solo music career before pursuing acting in...
MGM
Madonna The pop icon acted in several movies throughout the '80s, '90s and '00s, and even moved into directing. She was quite good in "A League of Their Own," but she also starred in "Swept Away," which wo...
Columbia Pictures
Will Smith Smith started his hip-hop career as part of the duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. He starred on the sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" for six seasons before becoming a box office titan in titles lik...
Getty
Mark Wahlberg Marky Mark ditched that moniker after his TV movie debut in "The Substitute" in 1993, which helped him pivot onto the big screen with roles in films ranging from the iconic "Boogie Nights" ...
Paramount Pictures
Jennifer Lopez Jenny from the block has made herself known as a triple threat. She starred as the late iconic Tejano singer in "Selena" in 1997, and since has gathered several movie and TV credits, includ...
Columbia Pictures
Queen Latifah Born Dana Elaine Owens, Queen Latifah broke onto the music scene in 1988 with her single "Wrath of My Madness." Later, her single "U.N.I.T.Y." earned her her first Grammy. Latifah broke into acting in...
Miramax
Britney Spears The princess of pop's foray into acting was short lived -- for good reason. Her 2002 movie "Crossroads" won her Worst Actress at the Razzie Awards. It was enough to take her off any path to silver ...
Paramount
Justin Timberlake The former NSync singer has continued his solo music career in tandem with several movie projects. Timberlake was recently nominated for best original song at the Oscars for "Can't Stop the ...
Sony Pictures
Mandy Moore Moore's breakout movie might be "A Walk to Remember," but she's also starred in rom-coms like "Chasing Liberty" and "Because I Said So." She is the voice of Rapunzel in Disney's "Tangled," and has ...
Warner Bros.
Jennifer Hudson Hudson starred in her very first film with Beyonce Knowles in "Dreamgirls" as Effie White. The performance landed the "American Idol" alum an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, launching her multi-...
Paramount
Lenny Kravitz Kravitz has several acting credits, from comedies like "Zoolander" to dramas like "Precious" and "The Butler" -- to pop culture sensations like "The Hunger Games."
Lionsgate
Beyoncé Knowles In spite of the fact that she largely sticks to music, Queen Bey's transition from the recording studio to the movie studio hasn't been too shabby: She made her movie debut in "Austin Powers Goldm...
Paramount
Ludacris Chris Bridges, a.k.a. Ludacris, joined the "Fast and Furious" franchise in 2003 as Tej Parker after already establishing himself as one of the most popular hip-hop artists of the early 2000s.
Universal
Harry Styles The former One Direction band member is one of the desperate British troops stuck on "the mole" in Christopher Nolan's new World War II movie "Dunkirk," an Oscar nominee for Best Picture. Styles does a grea...
WB
Lady Gaga The pop singer (born Stefani Germanotta) made a splash with her film debut, Bradley Cooper's remake of "A Star Is Born," earning an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. But was it really such a stretch to play a r...
