Home Q News Music News Auction of Madonna personal items halted by court

Auction of Madonna personal items halted by court

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Paul Morigi/WireImageA judge in New York City has halted the auction of personal items once belonging to Madonna including a love letter from her then-boyfriend Tupac Shakur, a pair of worn panties and a hairbrush containing her hair.

The New York Post reports that Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Gerald Leibovitz has ordered a collectibles dealer to remove those items and 18 others from an auction scheduled to take place Wednesday.

The paper reports that Madonna filed suit to stop the auction on Tuesday, with court papers taking particular exception to the sale of her hair. “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,” the paper quotes a court filing from Madonna as saying.

In the suit, Madonna also says she “shocked” to learn of the planned sale of the letter from Tupac which she said the thought was still in her possession.

According to the paper, the suit says the material may have made it to auction via a “former friend,” art consultant Darlene Lutz who the suit says would have had access to the stuff as a frequent overnight guest at Madonna’s even when the singer was not home.

However, a spokesman for the auction house, Gotta Have It! Collectibles, says the material is Lutz’s property that she has a right to sell, and the company plans to fight the temporary halt. “Madonna’s allegations will be vigorously challenged and refuted in a court of law in due course,” the spokesman tells the Post. “We are confident that the Madonna memorabilia will be back.”

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