Madonna has won a suit to halt an auction that aimed to sell 22 collectible, “highly personal” items, including the Material Girl’s “used underwear”, a hairbrush containing her hair, and a private letter sent to her from former lover Tupac Shakur while he was in prison.
An emergency court order was issued by Manhattan state Supreme Court Judge Gerald Leibovitz to stop the sale of the items before the auction was to take place.
“I understand that my DNA could be extracted from a piece of my hair. It is outrageous and grossly offensive that my DNA could be auctioned for sale to the general public,” Madonna’s initial court filing read.
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Gotta Have It! Collectibles announced the auction last month, and the Tupac letter was expected to fetch upwards of $400,000 USD. “I was shocked to learn of the planned auctioning of the Shakur letter, as I had no idea that the Shakur letter was no longer in my possession,” the lawsuit continued.
The lawsuit also points to a potential culprit, Darlene Luz, who the suit alleges pilfered the items while a “frequent overnight guest” of Madonna’s. Labelled a “former friend” in the filing, Luz “would have had access to these items on numerous occasions”.
The auction was set to start later this month, but will no longer take place as a result of the ruling. “The fact that I have attained celebrity status as a result of success in my career does not obviate my right to maintain my privacy, including with regard to highly personal items,” she concludes.