The world premiere of Lil Nas X’s documentary, ‘Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero,’ at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) experienced a delay due to a bomb threat targeting the artist.
According to reports, organisers were informed of a bomb threat directed at the Grammy award-winning artist, causing Lil Nas X to delay his arrival for safety reasons.
The incident, which occurred on Saturday, the 9th of September, at 9pm with Carlos Lopez Estrada and Zac Manuel, the co-directors, and editor Andrew Morrow, already on the red carpet when the threat was received.
A source informed Variety that the threat specifically targeted Lil Nas X; however, Judy Lung, the vice president of publication and communications for TIFF, did not confirm this in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.
Lung instead mentioned that the Toronto Police Service informed them of an investigation near the red carpet for the screening and that the standard security measures remained in place with a slight delay in the screening. Lung said it was a general threat, not directed at the film or the artist.
After a 20-minute delay and a security sweep of the venue, which deemed the threat not credible, Lil Nas X joined Estrada and Manuel on the red carpet, and the screening began around 10:30pm.
‘Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero’ was filmed during the artist’s first global tour, which concluded in March, giving an intimate look into the tour and the artist’s journey through identity, family, and acceptance while reflecting on his rapid rise to fame.
Lil Nas X expressed on the red carpet that he wanted fans to “see the real me” through the documentary. He mentioned that he is always joking and making fun, so the film would allow fans to take what they want from it. He also noted that the film signifies the end of one chapter of his life and the beginning of another.
