Madonna Files Order to Stop Auction of Tupac Breakup Letter
Madonna filed a request for a temporary restraining against the auction house Gotta Have It Collectibles to stop the sale of several personal items, including a breakup letter from Tupac Shakur, Reuters reports.
Per a request filed in New York State Supreme Court, the pop star is seeking to remove 20 items from the sale. These include a pair of underwear, an old checkbook, a hairbrush, personal photos, the Tupac letter and another previously reported missive. That note – addressed to a “J” believed to be actor John Enos, whom the pop star briefly dated – was expected to fetch at least $5,000 because in it Madonna called Whitney Houston and Sharon Stone “horribly mediocre.”
As of Tuesday, several Madonna lots were no longer listed on the Gotta Have It Collectibles website, including the two letters. The auction is set to begin July 19th and still features over 100 Madonna items, including costumes, photographs and lyric sheets. Many of the items were contributed by Darlene Lutz, Madonna’s personal assistant for more than 20 years.
In the court filings, Madonna said she was not aware that she no longer possessed the items headed to auction until she read reports of their impending sale. Madonna’s former friend and art consultant Darlene Lutz allegedly cosigned the items to the auction house. In the court documents, Madonna claimed Lutz had “betrayed my trust in an outrageous effort to obtain my possessions without my knowledge or consent.”
In a statement, Gotta Have It and Lutz said they would challenge Madonna’s claims in court and called her attempt to stop the sale “a completely baseless and meritless action.”
“Madonna and her legal army have taken what we believe to be a completely baseless and meritless action to temporarily halt the sale of Ms. Lutz’s legal property,” a rep for the auction house tells Rolling Stone via e-mail. “We believe that her intent is nothing more than to besmirch the good reputations of the auction house and Ms. Lutz. Madonna’s allegations will be vigorously challenged and refuted in a court of law in due course. We are confident that the Madonna memorabilia will be back listed in a future Gotta Have Rock and Roll online auction once the legal proceeding is concluded.”
Representatives for Madonna and the estate of Tupac Shakur did not immediately return Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.