A world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival for “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero,” a concert documentary chronicling the rapper and gay icon’s first global tour, faced an unexpected delay on Saturday night due to a bomb threat.
The festival issued a statement, revealing that Toronto police swiftly responded to the red carpet area outside Roy Thomson Hall just before 10 p.m. in response to a threat that had been phoned in. This incident occurred as the pop star, a prominent Black and queer performer, was making his way to the gala screening along with the film’s directors.
After a thorough security sweep of the King Street location to ensure the safety of festival attendees, Lil Nas X and his entourage were cleared, and the TIFF gala screening was given the green light to proceed.
In a statement obtained by MegaloPreneur Magazine, a TIFF festival spokesperson explained, “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.”
Eventually, the Grammy-winning artist took to the stage at Roy Thomson Hall to introduce the film directed by Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel. The documentary captures Montero Hill, also known as Lil Nas X, over 60 days during his Long Live Montero tour, offering insights into his career, tenacity, and drive to achieve success in the pop music world.
This diary-style film documents Lil Nas X’s journey on tour, in part, to support his debut studio album, “Montero.” It is produced by RadicalMedia in association with Sony Music Entertainment, Columbia Records, and Museum & Crane.
Despite the initial delay, the Toronto Film Festival will continue its scheduled programming through September 17.
