Promoters sue cancelled Gaga show

Concert promoters are suing insurers in the United States for breach of contract over an Indonesian concert by Lady Gaga canceled last year due to a threat by Islamic hardliners. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles by Live Nation LGTours, Mermaid Touring and The Atom Factory against three Lloyds of London insurance syndicates, claiming at least $75,000 in damages, according to documents published Tuesday. The flamboyant US pop diva, known for her outrageous outfits and wigs, canceled the concert in Jakarta last June after Islamic hardliners promised "chaos" if she entered the Muslim nation. In the lawsuit, a copy of which was published by the Hollywood Reporter, the promoters accuse the insurers of failing to pay out on a terrorism policy taken out in advance of the tour. Specifically it accused them of "despicable conduct that subjected Plaintiffs to cruel and unjust hardship ...with the intent to vex, injure or annoy the Plaintiffs, such as to constitute oppression, fraud or malice..." The Lloyds of London syndicates named in the lawsuit -- filed on March 3 at the US District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles -- are Beazley Syndicate 623, Beazley Syndicate 2623 and Talbot Syndicate 1183. Jakarta police refused approval for the June 3 Lady Gaga show after the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) threatened violence if she performed, calling her a "devil's messenger" who wears only a "bra and panties". Local promoters Big Daddy said it was "unfortunate" that the show, part of Lady Gaga's tour of Asia that drew protests from Christian groups in the Philippines and South Korea, had to be called off. More than 50,000 tickets had been sold for the event at the Bung Karno Stadium, but FPI Jakarta chairman Habib Salim Alatas said the cancellation was "good news" for Muslims in Indonesia. Ninety percent of Indonesia's 240 million people identify themselves as Muslim, making it the world's largest Islamic-majority nation, but the vast majority practise a moderate form of the religion. In the past, pop stars including Beyonce and The Pussycat Dolls have been allowed to perform in the country on condition they wore more conservative dress than usual.