Lil Nas X Doc Premiere Delayed After Bomb Threat Targeting the Artist

"The world premiere of Lil Nas X's documentary "Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero" at the Toronto Film Festival on Saturday night was delayed after a bomb threat was called in targeting the artist," Variety reports.

The screening was scheduled to start at 10pm at one of TIFF's premiere venues. Preceding the event the doc's co-directors Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel and editor Andrew Morrow arrived on the red carpet arrived on the red carpet ahead of Lil Nas X. But when he 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.

His arrival was delayed 20 minutes while TIFF security ran a sweep of the venue. Once the threat was considered not credible, Lil Nas X joined his co-creators on the red carpet and the screening went on as planned at 10:30 pm, a half-hour later than scheduled.

A spokesperson for TIFF tells Variety: "Earlier this evening, we were made aware by the Toronto Police Service of an investigation in the vicinity of the red carpet for the 'Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero' 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."

Earlier in an exclusive interview with Variety, Lil Nas X said: "I know in my lifetime, while I'm here, I'm going to do my best to make the ceiling unreachable to where we can go as Black queer people. And I mean unreachable as, like, it can go above and beyond."

He continued: "I feel like we live in a generation where Black queer people really control culture, and they're helping really take the world to the next level. And I think that's going to have an effect on our youth watching us."

In its review, Variety writes: "In the loosely rambunctious and at times exhilarating backstage concert movie 'Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero,' he comes on as exactly who he is: the latest star to remake the pop universe, and by the time the film is over it's hard to imagine the universe without him. That's how much he tears down walls and makes old categories irrelevant...

"Then again, he's an old-school romantic as well, and that's something you don't exactly see everyday in hip-hop. The highlight of the movie may be his onstage performance of 'That's What I Want,' with its plaintive militance as he sings, 'Cause it don't feel right when it's late at night/And it's just me and my dreams.' 'Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero' channels the grandeur of what it means to put your dreams out there, for everyone to see."

There is no official release date for the documentary.