Madonna Accused of Lip-Synching After Performance Issue

Critics of Madonna say she was busted lip-synching during her world tour after falling from a chair during a show mishap.

The "Material Girl" hitmaker was performing her Celebration tour in Seattle when she fell from a chair she was being dragged on. A dancer had been dragging Madonna backwards on the wooden chair when they tripped over, bringing the singer down with them.

Madonna was performing her 1980s hit "Open Your Heart" and despite tumbling to the ground, continued with the performance, even looking up at the dancer and laughing.

A video of the accident was shared to X, formerly Twitter, but rather than commenting on the mishap, some people watching it accused her of not singing live and lip-syncing to the music.

"I can't believe people pay staggering ticket prices for lip-syncing," replied one person to the post which has been viewed more than 11.5 million times.

Another added: "Did you see when she fell, she stopped singing for 2 seconds ish, but the song was still playing. Oops. Fraud."

And a third wrote: "And the voice of Madonna kept right on singing, even though Madonna was laughing uncontrollably."

Newsweek contacted Madonna's representatives by email for comment.

But some defended the singer and pointed out that artists often have background singers or pre-recorded background vocals which are used during live shows.

"I think it's called backing track. Virtually all artists do it during live performances. Remember the whole NYE debacle with Mariah Carey?" wrote one fan referring to Carey's disastrous 2017 New Year's Eve performance in Times Square, New York City, which was marred by technical difficulties.

Ariel Chobaz, a Grammy-nominated recording and mix engineer, explained the reasoning of having a backing track.

"So, when they go to perform it, they have the support of the stacks they recorded. They have the effects on the background vocals. They're singing it on top. It's kind of like karaoke, in a way," he told ABC News' 20/20.

That means anyone watching might believe the singer is lip-synching because they can hear vocals but not see the artists singing into a microphone.

"But those are what we consider background vocals that were left in on purpose," Chobaz added.

The 65-year-old's tour honors her four-decade career and is a 79-date tour across Europe and North America. It was originally supposed to start in June, but was postponed until October after the Grammy-winner was hospitalized due to "a serious bacterial infection."

"I don't take any of this for granted," she said when announcing her tour in early 2023. "I feel like the luckiest girl in the world and I'm so grateful for all your support. And I can't wait to put this show together and have a moment with each and every one of you on the stage to celebrate the last four decades of my journey. I don't take any of this for granted."