Lady Gaga has been going from strength to strength this year with the release of her album Mayhem. (Joker 2 what?!) The album is getting great reviews, and the live show she’s built around it sounds absolutely sublime. Her Mayhem Ball Tour officially starts July in Vegas, but Mother Monster has been previewing the show at sold out gigs, including back-to-back weeks headlining at Coachella and dates in Mexico City last month. And she just marked her first performance for the merry month of May, for a monstrously well-attended concert at Rio’s Copacabana Beach on Saturday. I’m sure her business managers are bereft that the concert was free, because it was the Lady’s largest turnout ever, with more than 2 million fans showing up to just dance! Brava Gaga! So that’s the good news. The less good although everything worked out in the end news, is that Brazilian police say they thwarted a bomb threat that was targeting the event specifically to attack “children, adolescents, and the LGBTQIA+ community,” and two individuals have been arrested so far:
Brazilian police say they prevented a planned bomb attack targeting the free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday night.
According to a statement from police, a group was attempting to attack “children, adolescents, and the LGBTQIA+ community.” Two people allegedly involved were arrested in raids across different states, police said.
The free concert took place on Saturday night on Copacabana Beach. More than 2 million people attended, making it the largest show of Lady Gaga’s career. The anticipation leading up to the gig was immense, with fans coming to the beach days earlier to watch the stage go up and possibly catch a glimpse of the pop star.
According to Brazilian police, the attack’s alleged organizers were recruiting participants online — including teenagers — to carry out the bombing using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails. The overarching plan, police say, was to frame the attack as a “collective challenge” and gain notoriety on social media.
Police said one person arrested was the alleged leader of the group, and the other was a teenager arrested for storing child pornography. Police said 15 search and seizure warrants were served against nine “targets” in multiple cities and that authorities gathered “electronic devices and other materials.”
A representative for Lady Gaga did not immediately return NPR’s request for comment, but told The Associated Press that the pop star’s team learned about the alleged threat via media reports on Sunday morning. “Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks.”
In an Instagram post following the concert, the artist said the show was a “historical moment.”
“Thank you Rio for waiting for me to come back. Thank you little monsters all over the world,” she said, referring to her fanbase. “I love you. I will never forget this moment,” she wrote.
What’s the deal with Brazilian police not giving Gaga’s team a heads up on the planned terrorist attack at her concert? That seems ethically dubious. By contrast, Austrian police communicated appropriately with Taylor Swift, which is how Taylor had all the info she needed to determine that canceling three Vienna shows last August was the safest thing to do. I’m not saying Gaga should’ve canceled, just that she was kind of robbed of the decision due to info being withheld. Especially given that the police felt they’d successfully foiled the operation, why not at least share that with Gaga? Most importantly, I’m glad everyone was kept safe.
As for our Lady, of course it was another knockout performance, and also a meaningful comeback for Gaga, as she had to cancel her last planned concert in Rio in 2017 due to severe pain. Just like she waved the Mexican flag at her Mexico City shows, so here did Gaga wave the Brazilian flag in Rio. It’s such a simple gesture that means so much to fans. And speaking of, some reports estimate the crowd at Copacabana Beach to be closer to 2.5 million. Yowsa! When Madonna did a free Rio concert this time last year, her 1.6 million in attendance was record breaking. I won’t be petty and point out that Gaga (might’ve) topped Madonna by nearly 1 million.
Photos credit: Dilson Silva/Backgrid, Getty and via Instagram
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