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A woman who attended one of Donny Osmond’s concerts at his residency in Las Vegas is suing the singer and Harrah’s Las Vegas for negligence, Fox News Digital has learned.
In the lawsuit filed in Nevada’s Clark County District Court on Feb. 10 and obtained by Fox News Digital, Joanne Julkowski claims she was hit by an inflatable ball that was part of the legendary crooner’s show.
The lawsuit said Julkowski was “suddenly and forcefully struck in the back of the head by one of the lighted balls that had been thrown or propelled into the crowd” when she attended the show in February 2024.
Julkowski’s legal team told Fox News Digital in a statement: “The choice of this performer and this venue to intentionally launch large objects into a crowd shows a mentality that they prioritize entertainment value over the safety of their guests. The decision unnecessarily endangers people of all ages and can cause a multitude of injuries. This lawsuit brings these actions to light and seeks answers to those choices and asks for retribution for the injuries they caused to Joanne.”
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Fox News Digital has reached out to reps for Osmond and Harrah’s Las Vegas for comment.
The lawsuit added that she “sustained serious injuries, including a traumatic retinal eye injury to her right eye with retinal detachment requiring surgical intervention and resulting visual impairment, as well as associated head and neck injuries” that required medical care.
Her lawyers wrote that the venue had a duty to keep the concert area “free of hazards to life and limb, including dangerous conditions created or introduced by live entertainment, show elements, props, and special effects used during performances,” accusing Harrah’s of breaching its “duties of care.”
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“This duty included, but was not limited to, reasonably evaluating and appreciating the foreseeable risk of harm associated with incorporating oversized lighted balls into the show; deciding whether, where, and how such balls would be used; coordinating with the venue regarding safety; implementing appropriate safety protocols and supervision; monitoring the use of the balls during the performance; and providing adequate warnings and safeguards to protect concertgoers from being struck and injured,” the suit continued.
Her team also accused Osmond of breaching his duty by choosing to include or approving the balls as part of the show.
Julkowski’s lawyer wrote in the suit that she had also suffered “emotional distress from the incident, including “psychological trauma, fear, anxiety, PTSD, and loss of joy in life” along with the “physical pain, discomfort, disability, and limitations in her daily activities.”
“The oversized lighted balls used during the concert were designed and intended to be thrown or propelled through the audience while illuminated, and when so used, were capable of causing injury to concertgoers upon forceful impact,” the lawsuit added.
Julkowski is seeking $15,000 in damages and other unspecified punitive damages.
During a 2023 appearance on the “Just Trish” podcast, Osmond described the lighted, beach ball-like orbs that would be thrown into the audience.
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“And I’m actually doing the programming in the writing console for all these,” he said. “There’s like 24 orbs all over the arena. And the dancers have some too. And the orbs change colors according to their choreography. And they’re doing this one thing where they spin and let go that it changes color when they let go and changes it again when they grab it.”
“It’s so cool,” he added. “You know, it’s never happened before. I’m the first one to be able to do it because I think it’s my brain. I mean, this is the way my brain thinks.”
During a 2024 interview with Fox News Digital, Osmond reflected on the success of his Las Vegas residency, which began in 2021 and has been extended until December 2026.
“This is called the entertainment capital of the world,” he said of Las Vegas. “They say ‘New York: If you can make it there, you make it anywhere.’ But this is the capital. And, I mean, everybody’s tried to replicate Vegas all around the world, but there’s only one Las Vegas. And to have my own show on the Strip and probably one of the best locations on the Strip, it’s pretty darn cool, really is.”
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