Patti LaBelle was forced to end her concert at Milwaukee’s Riverside Theatre early on Saturday, December 10th due to an alleged bomb threat. All attendees were able to evacuate without injury.
The incident occurred three songs into the Godmother of Soul’s last scheduled performance of 2022. Fan-captured footage posted to Twitter shows LaBelle engaging with the audience and holding a bouquet of flowers before being approached suddenly by three members of her team. Labelle admirably resisted at first by shouting, “Hold Up! Wait!” into the microphone until one of her escorts appeared to whisper in her ear and the group promptly rushed off-stage along with her backing band. Watch the tense moment below.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Milwaukee Police Department confirmed that “all patrons have been safely evacuated.” They later issued an update saying, “The building was searched by K9 units. No explosive devices were discovered. There is no threat to the public at this time.”
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Labelle is expected to resume touring in February 2023 with dates set for Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Memphis, and more. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster.
My love goes out to you Patti Labelle. You tried to make it such a loving and joyful holiday and someone had to ruin it for you #pattilabelle #Milwaukee #riversidetheatre #threat pic.twitter.com/VBRqANgA3D
— Sunshine ⁷ 🌻 (@sunny_seokkie) December 11, 2022