Madonna has lost a court battle to keep a trove of intimate belongings including a pair of satin panties, a brush containing her hair and a break-up letter from former boyfriend, the late rapper Tupac Shakur, from heading to the auction block.
On Tuesday, a New York state appeals court in Manhattan cleared the way for an auction, saying Madonna could not pursue claims against Darlene Lutz, her former friend, and art consultant, or the Gotta-Have-Rock-and-Roll.com online auction website, to which Lutz consigned the items for sale.
The Appellate Division said Madonna’s claims were barred by a “very broad” release in her 2004 settlement agreement with Lutz, who was “free to do with the property as she wished” as its rightful owner.
Madonna had said she didn’t know until learning about the auction that Lutz, who worked for the singer from 1981 to 2003, possessed the more than 20 disputed items.
