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Madonna lashes out after London Palladium cuts off concert for going past curfew

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Madonna perfoms “I Rise” in front of the curtain at the close of Wednesday night’s late-running show (Image via YouTube)

Madonna is making news again for a disruption of her current “Madame X” tour, but it’s not because she cancelled another show.

Variety reports that the 61-year-old “Queen of Pop” has been venting her anger at the London Palladium after the venue cut short her concert for running over an 11 p.m. curfew on Wednesday night.

The singer was still performing when Palladium staff closed the stage curtain and switched off the sound when she went past the deadline, prompting an expletive-laced outburst from the “Vogue” hitmaker, who emerged from behind the curtain and continued the show despite the house lights being on and her microphone being off.

The pop icon later took to Instagram to further express her fury at the Palladium, accusing the venue of attempting to “censor” her “Madame X” performance in a post which included a video showing her coming through the curtains with her backup dancers and launching into the concert’s final song, “I Rise,” as the audience applauded and sang along.

The singer wrote, “…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!! #Irise #ongod #madamextheatre #thelondonpalladium”

The video as posted on Madonna’s Instagram begins with a caption that says, “Everybody’s hurt. What is important, what drives you, torments you, is that you must find some way of using this to connect with everyone else alive. Artists are here to disturb the peace.”

On Thursday, a Palladium spokeswoman issued a statement disputing the controversial star’s claim that the metal fire curtain had been lowered, saying, “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.”

At a previous Palladium show last week, Madonna told the audience that she had been warned by the local Westminster council that an “iron curtain” would fall over the production if she went beyond the designated cutoff time.

According to The Daily Mail, the star trolled the venue again at her Palladium show on Thursday, the following night, by saying on stage, “You know there’s an iron curtain waiting for me. Some handcuffs? I hope someone will arrest me.”

Not all of Madonna’s fans agreed with her take on the incident. At least one fan at the Wednesday show blamed the singer, telling The Mail, “Classic Madge. All her own fault.” Her original Instagram post also included several comments from concert-goers scolding her for her tardiness, such as @jpstunnas, who wrote, “Bravo to the theater. This should of been done in the states. You need to learn to not be super tardy.”

The Wednesday concert had been scheduled to begin at 8:30pm, but the singer did not take the stage until approximately 30 minutes later, causing the performance to run past its scheduled ending time. Madonna has a long history of being late for performances, and is currently being sued by fans over the devaluation of show tickets due to her tardiness.

She has previously cancelled 10 of the 93 scheduled dates for her current tour due to injury.

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PHOTOS: World Pride March

LGBTQ rights demonstration held in Amsterdam

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A scene from the 2026 World Pride March in Amsterdam. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: Daddy Issues at Kiki

Evry Pleasure, Tiara Missou-Sidora, Indiana Bones perform

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Evry Pleasure performs at the 'Daddy Issues' drag show at Kiki on Wednesday. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

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Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?

‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia

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(Book cover image courtesy of St. Martin's Essentials)

‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages

Mom called you in a panic the other day.

She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.

These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.

You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?

Chin says maybe, yes.

He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.

Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.

Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.

Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.

Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”

Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.

Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.

Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.

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