TIFF 2023: Lil Nas X Documentary Premiere Delayed By Bomb Threat
etcanada.comThe world premiere of ” “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero” at the Toronto Film Festival was forced to be delayed when a bomb threat was called in, reportedly targeting the premiere and the rapper himself.
Variety reports that the screening — which was scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall — was pushed back by the bomb threat, which sources say had a homophobic intent, aimed at Lil Nas X for being Black and gay.
Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel, the doc’s directors, arrived on the red carpet with editor Andrew Morrow, with Lil Nas X arriving shortly after; however, as his car pulled up, organizers told him to stay put while a security sweep of the venue was undertaken. READ MORE: Lil Nas X Documentary ‘Long Live Montero’ To Premiere At TIFF 2023 After TIFF security determined the bomb threat had been a hoax, Lil Nas X joined Estrada and Manuel on the red carpet, with the screening beginning about 30 minutes behind schedule. “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,” a TIFF spokesperson told Variety. “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.” Prior to the film’s premiere, Lil Nas X spoke with Variety about his hopes for the film. “I know in my lifetime, while I’m here, I’m going to do my best to make the ceiling unreachable to where we can go as Black queer people.
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