World Premiere of Documentary Was Screened After 20-Minute Delay
By Dolores Quintana
The premiere of “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero” at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) faced a momentary setback on Saturday night due to a bomb threat.
Judy Lung, TIFF’s Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications, confirmed to CTV News Toronto via a written statement that the festival was alerted to an investigation “in the vicinity of the red carpet” at Roy Thomson Hall, where the documentary was set to be screened.
Lung stated, “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.”
A spokesperson for the Toronto police informed CTV News Toronto that the threat had been conveyed to the festival’s private security by a passerby. “Out of an abundance of caution, the Toronto police and the private security swept the scene and cleared it within 20 minutes,” noted Constable Victor Kwong.
Toronto police also clarified that the threat had a general nature and did not specifically target any individual or entity.