Josephine Georgiou says she has no intention of suing singer but without consent incident might lead to legal action, says expert

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Many pop stars with three decades of global celebrity behind them are content to give up controversy and enjoy a comfortable circuit of greatest hits gigs. But at 57, it seems Madonna is set on still generating headlines.

Amid a brief but already incident-packed Australian tour – which began with the singer arriving on stage four hours late for a concert, dressed as a clown and riding a tiny tricycle – Madonna faces the theoretical possibility of a sexual assault charge after pulling down the top of a teenage fan who went on stage with her.

It comes amid a brief series of examples of slightly wayward behaviour by the singer, who has been embroiled in a court dispute with her ex-husband Guy Ritchie over their teenage son, Rocco.

The latest incident, in Brisbane on Thursday night, lasted less than a second but was, inevitably, soon being shared across the globe on social media.

It began when 17-year-old Josephine Georgiou joined the singer on stage during her second evening at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre.

“She’s the kind of girl you just want to slap on the ass,” the singer said admiringly of the barista and would-be model standing next to her. “And pull,” Madonna added, yanking down the girl’s strapless top to briefly reveal one breast, to aghast cheers from the crowd.

Madonna clowns around at Melbourne show after three-hour delay Read more

“I’m sorry, sexual harassment,” the singer continued. “You can do the same to me. Good luck,” she said, motioning to her own more robustly secured outfit.

Some Australian lawyers soon began speculating that such a move, if done without the consent of the other person, could constitute sexual assault.

Fortunately for Madonna, Josephine soon made it clear she was not about to go to the police.

“Seriously, why would I sue Madonna for the best moment of my life?” the teenager told Brisbane’s Courier Mail newspaper. “It was the best night.”

The fan said she had been wearing a top belonging to her mother which was too big, and she had been adjusting it as Madonna talked to the crowd. “She was calling me a Victoria’s Secret model the whole time I was on stage, which is so flattering,” Josephine said.

“Only I get to decide if I’m humiliated or not. Why would people assume I am humiliated by my own breast, nipple or body?







Most of the controversy attached to Madonna’s Australian tour has, in contrast, been over the more traditional pop star behaviour of turning up very late.

For the inaugural show in Melbourne, her first live appearance in Australia for 23 years, Madonna eventually reached the stage at 1am, and then performed a somewhat experimental circus-themed show called Tears of a Clown.

The initial Brisbane concert saw a three-hour delay, although the next night saw Madonna arrive on stage just 25 minutes later than billed.

The Melbourne concert sparked speculation she might have been intoxicated, with Madonna rambling, asking for drinks to be brought to the stage and reportedly falling off the tiny tricycle at one point.



She performed one song with a backdrop photograph of her 15-year-old son, Rocco, over whom she is engaged in a custody battle with his father, the film director Ritchie.

“Everybody knows the saga of me and my son Rocco. It’s not a fun story to tell or think about,” Madonna told the Melbourne crowd. “I probably would have enjoyed myself a bit more on this tour if he hadn’t disappeared so suddenly. I’m going to dedicate this song to him.”

A private hearing of the case at the family division of the high court in London ended last week. The judge is expected to deliver a ruling soon.

Mr Justice MacDonald had been told that Rocco was living with his father in England but his mother wanted him to return to her in the US. The judge had urged the couple to settle the issue outside the courts.

Last week the court was told that Madonna wanted to end the litigation and “heal the wounds” opened in the dispute with Ritchie.



