Madonna’s Drunken Antics Botch Concert As Custody Battle Looms

Madonna’s brewing custody battle with Guy Ritchie is stressing the 57-year-old pop diva out, and it’s starting to show. According to TMZ, Madonna had a minor meltdown during her January 16 show in Louisville, Kentucky. The Material Girl drew ire from longtime fans when her concert started late, three hours late. Even worse, fans told TMZ that when Madonna finally took the stage, she was obviously drunk. However, fans don’t agree on how drunk. One angry fan described Madonna as “very drunk” while another claims that Madonna was only “a lil drunk but funny.”

It gets worse. According to some fans, Madonna tried to cover her drunken performance by turning on the audience. Madonna apparently adopted a “hillbilly accent” to trash talk her Kentucky fans.

Madonna appeared to admit to showing up tipsy for her performance in a post to her official Twitter account.

Working on my stand up laying down??good practice!!! ??Thanks Louisville! ? the tears of… https://t.co/L1aSLwHUKf pic.twitter.com/00j7qM7BRj

— Madonna (@Madonna) January 17, 2016

There might be more to Madonna’s alcohol-fueled slip up than meets the eye. According to People, Madonna and her ex-husband, Guy Ritchie, have been locked in a custody battle over their 15-year-old son, Rocco. It seems that after three months of traveling with Madonna on her Rebel Heart tour, Rocco decided he’d had enough and flew to the United Kingdom to live with Guy Ritchie.

The problem is, Rocco refused to return to the United States to spend Christmas with his mother and younger siblings. Undaunted, Madonna appeared in a New York courtroom on December 23, demanding that Rocco be returned to her custody. Reportedly, the judge ordered Rocco to return to the United States, but so far, he hasn’t. According to sources close to Guy Ritchie, Rocco misses his friends in London and hates the expensive Manhattan private school Madonna enrolled him in.

Reportedly, Guy Ritchie wants Rocco to stay with him. Sources told People, that Ritchie dislikes Madonna’s reportedly authoritarian parenting style, and thinks it will stifle Rocco’s confidence. Madonna and Guy Ritchie as scheduled to appear in a New York courtroom on February 3 to settle the custody arrangement. Right now, it’s unclear if Guy Ritchie refuses to return Rocco to Madonna’s custody, or if the 15-year-old refuses to leave London.

This isn’t the first time that Guy Ritchie and Madonna have revealed conflicting views on their lives together. According to the Daily Mail, Madonna revealed that, from her perspective, a lack of romance was at the heart of her 2008 split from Ritchie. Apparently, Madonna thought her relationship with Guy Ritchie was flawless in the beginning, but over the years noticed cracks in the veneer that made her wonder how much she was willing to sacrifice.

Guy Ritchie doesn’t see it that way. According to the Mirror, Ritchie just wanted a normal relationship, but Madonna’s inner circle and celebrity lifestyle made that impossible.

“She’s obsessed with her own public image, obsessed with being seen as some kind of global soothsayer. It’s silly, she’s a pop star. And some of the advisers around her, some of whom have gone, made it impossible for us to have a semblance of a normal life. They worshipped at the altar of Madonna. I just wanted a regular husband and wife thing – not least for the sake of the kids.”

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, the demise of Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s marriage and the custody battle over Rocco have both played out through the stars respective public relations teams. Ritchie continues to pain Madonna as self-absorbed and unnecessarily strict with her children. Meanwhile, Madonna’s public relations team paints Ritchie as a negligent parent determined to use their son to settle a score with his ex-wife.

[Photo by Christian Palma/AP Images]