Source: VALERIE MACON / Getty
Lil Nas X’s documentary Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero was supposed to premiere at the Toronto Film Festival at a certain time Saturday night but, unfortunately, it got delayed for about 20 minutes because, well, homophobic bigots ruin everything—or at least they try to.
According to Variety, the screening was scheduled to begin at 10:pm Saturday at Roy Thomson Hall, one of TIFF’s premier venues. Fans were lined up to see the documentary and the film’s co-directors, Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel, and editor, Andrew Morrow, were all on the red carpet taking photos. But just as Nas X was pulling up to have his moment with his fans and collaborators, organizers were informed that a bomb threat had been called in and everything was brought to a grinding halt.
From Variety:
The threat specifically targeted the rapper for being a Black queer artist, one source added.
Nas’ arrival was delayed 20 minutes while TIFF security conducted a sweep of the venue. After the threat was proved not credible, he joined Estrada and Manuel on the red carpet and the screening began at approximately 10:30pm.
A spokesperson for TIFF tells Variety: “Earlier this evening, we were made aware by the Toronto Police Service of an investigation in the vicinity of the red carpet for the ‘Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero’ screening. Our standard security measures remained in place during this time and the screening commenced with a slight delay. To our knowledge, this was a general threat and not directed at the film or the artist.”
The “Old Town Road” artist is, of course, no stranger to dealing with homophobic nonsense, but it’s still a shame that, in 2023, folks are still so full of hate that they would attempt to derail the premier of a documentary they don’t even have to watch with terroristic intimidation and threats of violence.
Fortunately, it was a failed attempt and the “Industry Baby” entertainer was still seen on the red carpet with family, fans and his team of documentarians.
So, basically, haters can hate, but the show will go on.
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