Lil Nas X’s TIFF Documentary Premiere Hit With Bomb Threat
Lil Nas X waited 20 minutes to attend his own premiere following a bomb threat targeted towards him for being black and queer.
In a dramatic turn of events at the Toronto Film Festival, the world premiere of Lil Nas X’s documentary, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, encountered a chilling delay due to a bomb threat targeting the artist.
The gala screening, originally slated for a 10 p.m. start time at TIFF, had a promising beginning, and at first, all seemed to be going well.
The documentary’s co-directors, Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel, along with editor Andrew Morrow, had already walked the red carpet. However, as the pop sensation Lil Nas X arrived in style to join them, things got a little crazy.
Organizers received an alarming bomb threat, prompting an immediate halt to proceedings. According to Variety, the threat explicitly singled out the rapper due to his identity as a Black queer artist.
Lil Nas X was forced to wait to walk the red carpet for 20-something minutes as TIFF’s security team quickly embarked on a thorough venue sweep to assess the threat’s validity. After ascertaining that there was no bomb and the whole thing was made up to inconvenience and frighten the musician, he finally joined his collaborators on the red carpet.
According to a release shared by the musician’s record label, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero “captures one of today’s most provocative pop stars at a transformational point in his life, both on and off stage.
Filmed over the course of 60 days with unparalleled access, the documentary follows Montero Hill, aka Lil Nas X, on an emotional odyssey through the creation and performance of the critically acclaimed Long Live Montero show.”
At present, there are no plans for the movie to be made available via streaming, though distribution is still pending.
Lil Nas X is in the midst working on new music, as he’s in between projects. His last album, Montero, was released in September of 2021. A year ago, he dropped his most recent single, “Star Walkin’ (League of Legends Worlds Anthem).”
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