Judge halts auction after Madonna’s objection

Ajudge on Wednesday halted an auction of intimate items of Madonna (right), including a breakup letter from the late rapper Tupac Shakur, after the pop superstar said that her privacy was violated.

New York Justice Gerald Lebovits ordered a hearing on the dispute for September 6 and barred the auction house, Gotta Have Rock and Roll, from holding the sale in the meantime. Madonna had, on Tuesday, asked the court to intervene, saying that the items were taken without her permission. “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,” said the Material Girl singer in a statement to the court.

The items include a letter from Tupac Shakur, with whom Madonna had a relationship that was little known publicly until recently. In the 1995 letter, Tupac, who’d be shot dead the following year, said that he was upset with Madonna for saying in an interview, “I’m off to rehabilitate all the rappers and basketball players.” He also said that his image could suffer by dating a white woman.

Many of the 100-odd items up for auction were identified as coming from Darlene Lutz, a New York art dealer who had been Madonna’s friend. She said that Lutz had helped her pack up a Miami house where much of the memorabilia was kept.