American R&B singer Patti LaBelle, referred to as the “Godmother of Soul,” was rushed off the stage of a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, theater mid-performance Saturday night reportedly over a bomb threat.
In a video captured from the audience’s vantage point at the Riverside Theater, the 78-year-old LaBelle, wearing an all-red gown, clasps onto a bouquet while speaking to the crowd through the microphone.
Security suddenly rushes to her side, and LaBelle, taken off guard, shouts, “Hold up” and “Wait!”
Three all-black-clad men force her to drop the flowers, and two of those security guards quickly usher her backstage. Her musicians quickly follow as the crowd roars in confusion.
“What?” a woman exclaims, as another person is heard asking, “what happened?”
“Tonight’s @MsPattiPatti show at the Riverside Theater has been postponed following a bomb threat investigated by the Milwaukee Police Department,” the event organizer, Pabst Theater Group, tweeted. “We are thankful for the efforts of the Milwaukee Police Department and our customers and staff for their safe and orderly exit.”
“We are working with the artist to reschedule the show,” the group added.
An emailed statement from Milwaukee police screenshot and tweeted out by journalist Drake Bentley Saturday night said that all patrons had been evacuated from the theater safely, as officers still worked to clear the facility and the investigation remained fluid and ongoing.
