Thursday, July 16, 2009

Madonna's Tour Set Collapses - 1 Dead And 7 Injured


Earlier today while workers in Marseille, France were assembling Madonna's tour set, the roof of the set fell in and killed one person and injured seven others. Immediately after the accident. the police closed the stadium in an effort to remove everyone from beneath the structure. Madonna released a statement where she said, "I am devastated to have just received this tragic news. My prayers go out to those who were injured and their families along with my deepest sympathy to all those affected by this heartbreaking news."

Am I wrong to maybe have wanted more from Madonna? These are people who are working for her. Maybe they were just hired for the day locally or maybe they have been on the tour for the entire time, but they are working for her. Did she try and go down to the stadium and be with the rest of the workers? I know that if people were working for me and they got killed doing something for me, I would do a whole lot more than just release a pro-forma statement through my publicist.

Maybe she did go to the scene. Maybe she showed up and comforted her workers. I haven't seen any reports she did though. The show they were setting up the stage for was scheduled for this Sunday so perhaps she isn't in town. I would think she could get there though fairly quickly.

25 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:43 AM

    She couldn't be bothered to go pick up her latest stolen African child, why would you think she'd bother with a few dead or injured employees? She's Madonna!

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  2. Color me unsurprised.

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  3. not a madonna fan, enty, but we need to wait and see. i'm on the fence as to whether she needs to go down to the stadium.

    i don't care for madonna's music, but i don't think she's cold-blooded.

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  4. I'm sure her publicist wrote it. How sad for all the workers.

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  5. Anonymous11:59 AM

    Madonna doesn't mingle with little people

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  6. pls. her ass better be down in the trenches seeing first hand what is/was going on. she's not new to touring. she knows full well how massive load-in for a show is, and the tons and tons of trusses and equipment that go up to become the set. she also knows that a local ground support staff for every city/local is always hired, so i hope to all that is holy that she's better than a diplomatic statement released by her pr team.

    i expect way more of an artist of her caliber. she better ante up and show a humanitarian side quick.

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  7. I SMELL A REALLY BIG LAWSUIT....

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  8. The thought of Madonna touring the collapse like she's a head of state makes roll my eyes. I'd advocate immediate phone calls to the families followed by hospital visits.

    (And what kind of publicist would release this? It's not difficult to write an immediate statement that buys yourself some time to develop an approach while being respectful to those killed and injured.)

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  9. Well if the entire press story had been read, you'd all know that she wasn't in Marseille at the time of the accident, she was in Udine, Italy, so popping down to be with the workers isn't readily possible.

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  10. Madonna care about anyone other than herself? I doubt it. Probably the only thing she cares about is, how it will affect her tour.

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  11. If it's unsafe for the general public to be there, then it's unsafe for Madonna and her entourage to be there as well. There's nothing she can do there anyway. Personal phone calls or hospital visits would be the better route. Doubtful she'll do either.

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  12. About as boilerplate as they come. This is reprehensible. Couldn't she (or whoever released this statement on her behalf), at the very minimum, refer to the person who died by name? So what if she didn't actually know that person, (or those who were injured?) How hard is it to say: "Joe Blow was an irreplacable member of our team who worked so hard to make the show a success". Or something along those lines. HOW FUCKING HARD IS THAT!?

    It really would have been better to not release anything at all if it couldn't be done right. Something from her publicist like "Madonna is too devastated to comment at this time".

    She is a toad, as are her toadys.

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  13. I'm not one for sue-happy people, but I hope they all sue the hell out of her roided-out ass.

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  14. Well, as a person who has lost a worker in a tragic accident I say, cut her some slack. She can't just pop over. The statement is fine for a public comment on the incident.
    And by the way yes I did go to the site and I was part of the team required by law to do an investigation. However, the owners of the company did not but I saw how the news affected them.
    After taking the statements and writing the press release, I went home and cried for 4 hours straight. Am I heartless, I don't think so nor do I think the owners were heartless because they didn't go. I'm sure she is affected by this tragedy, but can't she grieve in private.

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  15. This reminds me of when three ironworkers were killed in my hometown, Milwaukee, while building the new baseball stadium. They were up in a crane that tipped over in the wind. Their union hadn't wanted them to go up that day, but the contractors insisted, chasing a deadline. The crane fell over and all three men were all crushed.

    Anyway, there's a statue of the three of them outside the stadium now, which is a good tribute - they'll never be forgotten.

    Wouldn't it be a bit fake of Madonna to express her great distress of the death of someone she'd probably never met? The deceased man was probably hired locally, ie not much of a member of her "team."

    It's a sad situation, particularly for the families of the deceased and injured, but I'm not sure she can do much more than any other distant, disconnected boss in this situation. Send money.

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  16. and if she went, we'd all cry publicity. she can't win.

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  17. What is wrong with you people? This is the same kind of ignorance that brought down Michael Jackson - jumping to conclusions when you don't know the full story. A) The woman wasn't even in the country. B) What good would it do her to go to the scene when after EMTs cleared it, there was nothing to see? You have absolutely no idea what she has already done or is planning to do privately for their families, and quite frankly it's none of our business. Dial back on the hate a bit.

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  18. i'm not dialing back on the hate. you're a fan. big deal. i'm not.

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  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  20. God, I just hope she gets a new set. Preforming on the old one would be like dancing on that workers grave.

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  21. I'm actually not a Madonna fan and it's kind of unfortunate that a measure of objectivity is summarily dismissed as sycophantism.
    I'm with Caroline.

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  22. I am on Team Caroline.

    Barking up the wrong tree on this one.

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  23. when a stunt worker was injured on an adam sandler set, sandler went with him to the hospital, stayed until he knew the prognosis, and visited often.

    how hard would it be for her to fly in and offer the families a hit of her kabbalah water or something, for heaven's sake?

    names can't be mentioned, because family members may not have all been notified, i certainly understand that. but something as serious as a death requires more of her than a pat response.

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  24. Bionic woman....how do you know that she didn't go and really why should she go...just to keep up appearance to make certain people happy.

    SEriously....if she had went....you guys would have said she was show-boating and just showing fake emotions.

    She can't win.

    I personally...would have personally called the family ( not tell the world just so the world can see that I am a kind person)...released a statement...and let the authorities do the rest.

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  25. I hear you, JW. This could have (and does) happen on any artist's tour, so which artist isn't an issue.
    She's on tour so her time isn't hers. She'll be in Marseille on the day she's supposed to be in Marseille. At that time, I'd think she make some visits.
    But no matter what she does in this or any other situation, people will slam her.

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