WATCH: Madonna Invites Actress Julia Garner Onstage for Celebration Tour After Scrapped Biopic Dilemma
Madonna invited actress Julia Garner onstage for her Celebration Tour in December.
Madonna invited actress Julia Garner onstage for her Celebration Tour this week, RadarOnline.com has learned. The move came months after Madonna’s highly anticipated biopic was put on hold indefinitely.
In a surprising development to come after the 65-year-old Queen of Pop’s biopic was scrapped by Universal Pictures in January, Madonna invited the actress who was initially casted to play her in the flick onto the stage in Brooklyn on Thursday night.
According to a video captured by a fan in the audience, Garner joined Madonna onstage for a performance of the singer’s 1990 hit Vogue.
Garner, 29, appeared as a spitting image of the Queen of Pop at the Barclays Center. Both the singer and the actress were dressed in all black and held judge score cards as dancers performed around them.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Madonna was set to direct the untitled biopic starring Garner before the project was abruptly scrapped by Universal Pictures back in January.
Although it was unclear what led to the biopic getting scrapped, sources close to the Like a Virgin singer and Inventing Anna actress hinted that scheduling issues were one of the main factors.
Julia Garner was set to play Madonna in the scrapped biopic.
"This project means the world to Madonna," one insider said weeks before the project was postponed indefinitely. “Her opinion is that if it's to be a success, then Julia needs to slip into her mindset and live and breathe everything she does."
"Julia's got a lot on her plate," another source spilled. "She doesn't want to be run ragged by Madonna, no matter how much she respects her."
Meanwhile, Garner was not the only surprise guest to appear onstage during this leg of Madonna’s Celebration Tour.
The Material Girl singer’s 30-year-old boyfriend, Josh Popper, also made a special appearance on Wednesday night during the Queen of Pop’s first show at the Barclays Center.
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Madonna was scheduled to perform at 8:30 PM but did not take the stage until after 10:30 PM.
Like Garner, Popper took to the stage and sat alongside his 65-year-old girlfriend during her performance of Vogue.
Madonna also faced backlash on Wednesday night because her performance did not kick off until nearly 11 PM. The doors opened at 7:30 PM and the Like a Virgin hitmaker’s opener, DJ Honey Dijon, played from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM.
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"Whole arena chanting bulls--- at her lateness,” one disappointed fan tweeted. “Great show but went way too late.”
As RadarOnline.com reported, this leg of Madonna’s Celebration Tour came months after the 65-year-old Queen of Pop was rushed to the ICU in June for a “serious bacterial infection.”
Madonna first announced the project, and said that she was going to direct it herself, in September 2020.
She was forced to postpone the kickoff of her tour until Wednesday night in New York City.
"I'm on the road to recovery and incredibly grateful for all the blessings in my life," Madonna said in a statement in July. "I assure you, I'll be back with you as soon as I can!"
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