Madonna Threatens to Cancel Concert Over Smoking Fans

USMagazine, Friday, December 21, 2012, 9:30am (PST)

Madonna's concert in Chile nearly went up in smoke this week.

During a sound check for her show at an open-air theater in Santiago on Wednesday, Dec. 19, the 54-year-old pop icon noticed some fans lighting up in her vicinity. Annoyed, she interrupted her own performance of "Human Nature" to call out the offending audience members.

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"There are people smoking right now," the singer said angrily. "If you're gonna smoke cigarettes, I'm not doing a show. You don't care about me, I don't care about you. All right?"

When the fans continued to puff away, she added: "Are we going to play that game? I'm not kidding. I can't sing if you smoke, entiendes?"

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Responding to a "We love you" from someone in the crowd, Madonna shot back, "If you love me, then don't smoke. No smoking! You're looking right at me while you're smoking cigarettes, like I'm a stupid f---ing idiot."

The superstar -- who actually smokes a cigarette for effect in her "Girl Gone Wild" video, released earlier this year -- then turned and stormed offstage, leaving the half-packed venue waiting in the rain. However, the concert ultimately went on as planned.

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This isn't the first time Madonna has had trouble with fans on her MDNA Tour. In Miami earlier this year, she was booed by angry concert-goers who had been kept waiting for over three hours.

Not that ticket sales have suffered. The sold-out tour -- the singer's ninth -- recently topped Billboard's list of the highest-grossing live tours in 2012, earning an estimated $228.4 million.

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Madonna Threatens to Cancel Concert Over Smoking Fans