Madonna asks court to block auction of love letter from Tupac Shakur

Madonna asked a judge Tuesday to block an auction of memorabilia
including a breakup letter from rapper Tupac Shakur, saying the
intimate items were stolen by her former friend.

The pop superstar filed a motion with a New York court a day
before auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll was set to start
taking bids for more than 100 items, with Tupac’s letter expected
to fetch as much as $400,000.

Madonna in a statement to the court called the auction “beyond
the bounds of decency” and said she was “shocked” to learn of it
through media reports.

Much of the collection is listed as coming from New York art
dealer Darlene Lutz. Madonna told the court that Lutz was formerly
a close friend and had access to the personal items when she helped
the pop singer pack up a house in Miami.

“It seems obvious that Defendant Lutz betrayed my trust in an
outrageous effort to obtain my possessions without my knowledge or
consent and now attempts to profit by auctioning off my personal
belongings and private communications to the general public,”
Madonna said.

“The fact that I may have attained celebrity status as a result
of success in my career does not obviate my right to maintain my
privacy, including with regard to highly personal items,” she
said.

Little had been known publicly for decades about Madonna’s
relationship with Tupac, one of the pivotal figures of hip-hop who
was shot dead in 1996.

In the 1995 letter, Tupac said that Madonna hurt him through
public comments and that his image among fans could deteriorate if
it was known he was dating a white star.

Among other items whose sale Madonna sought to block was a
startingly frank letter to another former lover, actor John
Enos.

In the handwritten note from the early 1990s, Madonna said she
envied the careers of singer Whitney Houston and actress Sharon
Stone, saying they were “horribly mediocre” and had built on
Madonna’s foundations.

“Maybe this is what black people felt like when Elvis Presley
got huge,” she wrote.

Madonna also asked the judge to prohibit the sale of cassette
tapes of unreleased music and a hairbrush.

“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,” Madonna wrote.

Madonna asked a judge Tuesday to block an auction of memorabilia
including a breakup letter from rapper Tupac Shakur, saying the
intimate items were stolen by her former friend.

The pop superstar filed a motion with a New York court a day
before auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll was set to start
taking bids for more than 100 items, with Tupac’s letter expected
to fetch as much as $400,000.

Madonna in a statement to the court called the auction “beyond
the bounds of decency” and said she was “shocked” to learn of it
through media reports.

Much of the collection is listed as coming from New York art
dealer Darlene Lutz. Madonna told the court that Lutz was formerly
a close friend and had access to the personal items when she helped
the pop singer pack up a house in Miami.

“It seems obvious that Defendant Lutz betrayed my trust in an
outrageous effort to obtain my possessions without my knowledge or
consent and now attempts to profit by auctioning off my personal
belongings and private communications to the general public,”
Madonna said.

“The fact that I may have attained celebrity status as a result
of success in my career does not obviate my right to maintain my
privacy, including with regard to highly personal items,” she
said.

Little had been known publicly for decades about Madonna’s
relationship with Tupac, one of the pivotal figures of hip-hop who
was shot dead in 1996.

In the 1995 letter, Tupac said that Madonna hurt him through
public comments and that his image among fans could deteriorate if
it was known he was dating a white star.

Among other items whose sale Madonna sought to block was a
startingly frank letter to another former lover, actor John
Enos.

In the handwritten note from the early 1990s, Madonna said she
envied the careers of singer Whitney Houston and actress Sharon
Stone, saying they were “horribly mediocre” and had built on
Madonna’s foundations.

“Maybe this is what black people felt like when Elvis Presley
got huge,” she wrote.

Madonna also asked the judge to prohibit the sale of cassette
tapes of unreleased music and a hairbrush.

“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,” Madonna wrote.