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Madonna Blocks Tupac Letter From Being Auctioned With Emergency Court Order

Madonna and Tupac
Madonna and Tupac Ethan Miller/Getty Images for ABA; Ron Galella/WireImage

Madonna was granted an emergency court order on Tuesday, July 18, to stop an impending auction of 22 personal items, including a love letter from her late ex-boyfriend Tupac Shakur, the Associated Press reports.

Related: Madonna’s Craziest Controversies

According to the outlet, Manhattan State Supreme Court Judge Gerald Lebovits ordered the New York City memorabilia shop Gotta Have It! Collectibles to pull the items from its music-themed auction scheduled for Wednesday, July 19. The store also planned to auction articles including the Queen of Pop’s personal photos, a hairbrush, a pair of her previously worn underwear and a handwritten letter in which she called Whitney Houston and Sharon Stone “horribly mediocre.”

In court papers obtained by the AP, Madonna, 58, said she was “shocked to learn” of the news of the auction. “The fact that I 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. “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.”

Related: ’80s Stars: Then and Now

The court papers also said that the Tupac letter was expected to sell for up to $400,000. The “Like a Virgin” singer and the rapper, who died of injuries suffered in a 1996 drive-by shooting, briefly dated in the 1990s. According to the AP, Madonna’s former friend and “frequent overnight guest” was allegedly behind the sale of the items.

Related: Madonna: How Her Face Has Changed

“Madonna and her legal army have taken what we believe to be completely baseless and meritless action to temporarily halt the sale of Ms. Lutz’s legal property,” Pete Siegel, a spokesman for the auction house and Lutz, said in a statement to Page Six. “Madonna’s allegations will be vigorously challenged and refuted in a court of law in due course. We are confident that the Madonna memorabilia will be back.”

Amid the auction drama, Stone responded to Madonna calling her “mediocre” in her ’90s letter in a Facebook post on Thursday, July 13. “Dear Madonna, First, I think it’s absurd that anyone is publishing your private letters. Therefore; I publish publicly. Know that I am your friend,” the Casino actress, 59, wrote. “I have wished to be a rock star in some private moments… have felt as mediocre as you described. We know, as only those who have survived so long that owning our own mediocrity is the only way to own our own strengths; to become all that we both have become. I love and adore you; won’t be pitted against you by any invasion of our personal journeys.”

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