Madonna has accused the London Palladium of trying to “censor” her by pulling the curtain down after she ran over her curfew.
The superstar was performing her Madame X show at the London theatre when the plug was pulled and the lights and sound were switched off as she ran past her 11pm deadline.
In a video she has shared on Instagram, she can be heard saying: “F*** you, motherf******.”
It shows her returning to the stage from behind the closed curtain with her backing dancers as the crowd chants her name.
She then launches into a performance of I Rise under the house lights with her microphone switched off.
She captioned the clip: “Artists Are Here to Disturb the Peace…………….
“It was 5 minutes past our 11.00 curfew—-we had one more song to do and The Palladium decided to censor us by pulling down the metal fire curtain that weighs 9 tons.
“Fortunately they stopped it half way and no one was hurt………….. Many Thanks to the entire Audience who did not move and never left us.
“Power to The People!!”
One fan wrote on Twitter: “Madonna was amazing. The Palladium put the house lights up and pulled the curtain down on her. She had a big row with them then came back out and carried on with no microphone. Last seen in the stalls bellowing I Rise at people as they were gathering up their coats.”
Madonna was amazing. The Palladium put the house lights up and pulled the curtain down on her. She had a big row with them then came back out and carried on with no microphone. Last seen in the stalls bellowing I Rise at people as they were gathering up their coats.
— Paul Lang (@rudemrlang) February 5, 2020
Another wrote: “Madonna just got cut off mid song by the Palladium curtain dropping and the lights coming up as she overran the curfew. Glorious moment. She finished the show acapella in front of the curtain like a champ!”
Madonna just got cut off mid song by the Palladium curtain dropping and the lights coming up as she overran the curfew. Glorious moment. She finished the show acapella in front of the curtain like a champ!
— Chad (@ChadLDN) February 5, 2020
Another said: “So not only did we finally see the utterly iconic #Madonna live but she missed the curfew and the Palladium shut the lights and sound off. As the curtains fell, Madonna and her dancers stormed back onto the stage and sang I Rise acapella backed by the audience.”
So not only did we finally see the utterly iconic #Madonna live but she missed the curfew and the Palladium shut the lights and sound off. As the curtains fell, Madonna and her dancers stormed back onto the stage and sang I Rise acapella backed by the audience. #MadameXTour 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kqDYvAcsSv
— Ollie Charles 🏳️🌈🇪🇺 (@OllieCharles) February 5, 2020
A spokeswoman for the Palladium said: “Contrary to a number of reports, at no point during last night’s performance did staff at The London Palladium pull down, or attempt to pull down, the iron fire curtain.”