Lady Gaga's management sues Lloyd's of London over cancelled Jakarta gig - The Guardian

Lady Gaga's management company and tour promoters are suing Lloyd's of London over a 2012 concert that was called off after threats from Muslim extremists. The insurers are accused of refusing to honour two "terrorism policies" that would have protected the promoters from cancellation fees.

Gaga had been scheduled to play in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 3 June 2012, and had sold more than 50,000 tickets. But in the weeks before the arrival of her Born This Way tour, religious hardliners began to protest against the "vulgar" singer. "[She] wears only panties and a bra when she sings and she stated she is the envoy of the devil's child," proclaimed a spokesman for the Islamic Defenders Front. Indonesian police were reportedly unable to guarantee the safety of Gaga or her audience, and the 26-year-old pulled the plug.

Although the nixed gig was to take place in Indonesia, the lawsuit has been filed in California – the base of operations for the three Lloyd's syndicates that insured Gaga's tour. Her management company, Atom Factory, and her tour partners, Live Nation LG Tours and Mermaid Touring, say they paid "substantial premiums" to cover the singer's worldwide shows.

According to the policy, Gaga was protected from losses "should any insured performance(s) or event(s) specified herein be necessarily cancelled, abandoned, rescheduled, interrupted or relocated, in whole or in part … [as] the sole and direct result of terrorism and/or sabotage or threat thereof". But Lloyd's refused to pay out, citing "language and purported conditions that are not contained in the [policies]". This was "despicable conduct", the plaintiffs claim, "with the intent to vex, injure or annoy". They are seeking a jury trial, with damages of at least $150,000 (£99,000).

In some ways, this dispute may not be solely about Jakarta. Last month, Lady Gaga cancelled the remainder of her North American tour: 21 concerts, with lost revenues estimated at $25m (£17m). While Gaga recovers from hip surgery, the stakeholders may be arguing about who picks up the bill – and the "terrorism" litigation might be one battle in a larger Born This Way tour war.