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Bomb threat delays Lil Nas X appearance at Toronto film festival

Saturday night appearance was briefly delayed

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Rapper Lil Nas X answers questions after the premiere of his documentary at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto on Sept. 9, 2023 (Screenshot/YouTube Toronto International Film Festival)

The widely anticipated global premiere of the documentary ā€œLil Nas X: Long Live Monteroā€ at the Toronto International Film Festival was forced to be delayed after a homophobic bomb threat, festival organizers said.

The 48th Toronto International Film Festival which opened on Sept. 7 and runs till Sept. 17, was briefly delayed Saturday night after a threat was made according to a TIFF spokesman. Variety reported

The gala screening was scheduled for a 10 p.m. start at Roy Thomson Hall, one of TIFFā€™s premier venues. The documentaryā€™s co-directors Carlos LĆ³pez Estrada and Zac Manuel and editor Andrew Morrow arrived on the red carpet first, posing with fans that lined the entryway. But as their subject, pop superstar Lil Nas X, pulled up in his car to join them, organizers were informed that a bomb threat had been called in and the artist was told to hold, sources told Variety. The threat specifically targeted the rapper for being a Black queer artist, one source added.

In statements to Variety and other media outlets Saturday after the incident, the TIFF spokesperson said:

ā€œEarlier this evening, we were made aware by the Toronto Police Service of an investigation in the vicinity of the red carpet for the ā€˜Lil Nas X: Long Live Monteroā€™ 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.ā€

A spokesperson for Toronto Police on Sunday said: ā€œYesterday, at the TIFF, a passerby uttered a threat towards private security.ā€

ā€œOut of an abundance of caution, the Toronto Police and the private security swept the scene and cleared within 20 minutes. The threat was general and did not target any one person.ā€

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Kevin Spacey wonā€™t leave Baltimore mansion yet, buyer says

Actor has yet to move out

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Kevin Spacey (Photo by Vonora via Bigstock)

BY TIM PRUDENTE | A Bethesda real estate investor nabbed Kevin Spaceyā€™s waterfront Baltimore mansion at auction last month for a bargain, only now he has a problem.

Spacey, he said, has not given up the house.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Celebrity News

Adele shuts down ‘Pride sucks’ heckler at Las Vegas show

British singer is a long-time LGBTQ ally

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Adele (Screen capture via "I Drink Wine" music video on YouTube)

British pop megastar and longtime LGBTQ ally Adele reacted to a member of the audience who repeatedly yelled “Pride Sucks” in between songs during her show Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Adele, who is continuing her iconic residency,Ā Weekends with Adele, at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, has been a strong LGBTQ supporter. Last year, she celebrated Pride Month during her Las Vegas residency wearing a black dress with a rainbow flag train and Pride-themed confetti.Ā 

Sitting down on the piano bench next to her pianist bantering with the audience which is routine, the singer eviscerated the unseen audience member:

ā€œDid you come to my fucking show to say Pride sucks? Are you fucking stupid?ā€ Adele angrily said reacting. ā€œDonā€™t be so fucking ridiculous. If you have nothing nice to say, shut up, alright?ā€

The incident, which was caught on cell phone footage and posted to X, has since gone viral:

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Actor Richard Dreyfuss mocks transgender people in misogynistic rant

ā€˜Jawsā€™ star appeared at suburban Boston theater

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Richard Dreyfuss walked onto the stage wearing a blue floral pattern house dress, pausing to turn away from the audience and shake his hips suggestively, actions that were caught on multiple mobile phone video footage posted online. (YouTube screenshot)

Patrons at The Cabot theater in the suburban Boston town of Beverly were all set to celebrate the 49th anniversary viewing of the classic 1975 Steven Spielberg horror film “Jaws,” along with a question and answer with one of the film’s stars actor Richard Dreyfuss, when from the minute Dreyfuss appeared on stage, the event derailed.

Dreyfuss walked onto the stage wearing a blue floral pattern house dress, pausing to turn away from the audience and shake his hips suggestively, actions that were caught on multiple mobile phone video footage posted online. Then two stage hands appeared and tore the dress off the actor who then took his seat opposite the event’s moderator.

According to Variety and the Boston Globe’s reporting, Dreyfuss ranted about subjects reported to include transgender people, Barbra Streisand, the #MeToo movement, and women in general. As attendee Diane Wolfe described it toĀ the Boston Globe, ā€œ[Dreyfuss] said that the parents of trans youth, allowing them to transition, was bad parenting and that someday those kids might change their minds.ā€

Facebook/social media advertisement for the ‘Jaws’ screening by The Cabot.

A number of members of the audience took offense and left the venue. On The Cabot’s Facebook page one attendee wrote: ā€œThis was disgusting. How could The Cabot not have vetted his act better. Apparently (I found out too late), he has a reputation for spewing this kind of racist, homophobic, misogynistic bull crap.ā€

The Cabot has since limited commenting on its page.

The Cabot Executive Director J. Casey Soward on Sunday apologized in a statement that read:

ā€œWe regret that an event that was meant to be a conversation to celebrate an iconic movie instead became a platform for political views. We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for the discomfort it caused to many patrons,ā€ Soward said. ā€œWe are in active dialogue with our patrons about their experience and are committed to learning from this event how to better enact our mission of entertaining, educating and inspiring our community.ā€

WBSM News Talk Sports Radio in New Bedfordā€“Fall RiverĀ reported that The Cabot also sent an email, that the station had been forwarded, to those who purchased tickets apologizing.

ā€œDear Cabot Patrons,

I am writing to address an important matter concerning last nightā€™s event with Richard Dreyfuss at The Cabot.

We deeply regret that Mr. Dreyfussā€™s comments during the event were not in line with the values of inclusivity and respect that we uphold at The Cabot. We understand that his remarks were distressing and offensive to many of our community members, and for that, we sincerely apologize.

At The Cabot, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our community. The views expressed by Mr. Dreyfuss do not reflect our beliefs, and we do not endorse them in any way.

We take full responsibility for the oversight in not anticipating the direction of the conversation and for any discomfort it caused.

We are taking immediate steps to ensure that such an incident does not happen again. This includes more rigorous vetting of our event participants and more proactive communication strategies to keep our audience informed.

Thank you for your understanding and continued support of The Cabot.

We value your feedback and are dedicated to learning from this experience to better serve our community.ā€

The actor has a lengthy record of anti-trans remarks and bigotry. He has directed transphobic rants about trans youth affirming their gender and has taken aim at the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences calling out the Academy’s diversity efforts in a 2023 PBSā€™ Firing Line broadcast saying that the Academy’s focus on diversity ā€œmakes me vomit.ā€

ā€œWeā€™re so fragile that we canā€™t have our feelings hurt,ā€ he also said. ā€œWe donā€™t know how to stand up and bop the bully in the face.ā€

Deadline reported that Dreyfuss apparently made similar comments at a Friday nightĀ “Jaws”Ā screening at the Music Hall in Portsmouth, N.H. ā€œI live in Mass, but The Cabot showing was all booked so I saw him in N.H. on May 24,ā€ a Facebook commenter wrote. ā€œHe made anti-gay remarks that night too.ā€

The actor has not responded to requests by multiple media outlets for comment.

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