Patti LaBelle was abruptly rushed offstage just a couple of songs into a Christmas concert in Milwaukee, after a bomb threat forced authorities to suddenly evacuate the venue.
Footage of the 78-year-old singer’s sudden evacuation from the stage at the Riverside Theater began to circulate on social media on Saturday night shortly after the incident.
“Hold up! Wait!” LaBelle exclaims, before several men quickly remove her from behind the microphone and escort her from the stage. Members of the crowd can be heard asking what has happened as the lights go dim on stage.
Patti LaBelle was taken off stage by security at a concert in Milwaukee tonight following a bomb threat pic.twitter.com/SeuCPrWVDj
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 11, 2022
Shortly afterwards, the nearly full 2,500-seat theatre was evacuated.
Concert attender Catherine Brunson, who documented the evacuation on Facebook Live, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the evacuation happened two songs into LaBelle’s concert just before 9.30pm.
“We came out and police had the block taped off ... A whole lot of people were pretty upset ... It’s scary,” Brunson said.
Scott Pierce, who also attended the concert, said everyone had exited the theatre calmly, but it’s “just sad that someone does this”.
Early on Sunday morning, Milwaukee police captain Warren Allen Jr said K9 units had searched the theatre and no explosive devices were discovered and there was no threat to the public.
The investigation into what had happened is “fluid and ongoing”, he added.
LaBelle, an R&B legend known as “the godmother of soul”, has yet to issue a public statement about the incident.
The operator of the Riverside Theater, Pabst Theater Group, said it would work with LaBelle to reschedule the show.
Associated Press contributed to this report
