Britney Spears walked off the stage early during her concert in Vancouver on Wednesday, leaving stunned fans to boo and chant for half an hour while her handlers dealt with what they later delicately described as “a ventilation issue.” Translation: some of her crew members were reportedly sickened by the cigarette – or perhaps another sort of – smoke.
According to the Vancouver Sun review, the pop princess sang a few songs after taking to the stage at GM Place a little after 8:17 p.m. local time. But soon the stage mysteriously went dark, inspiring a few outbursts from impatient fans. A voice eventually came over the loudspeaker: “It’s become uncomfortable and unsafe for the performers, including Ms. Spears,” according to the report. “The show will resume as soon as the air around the stage is clear.”
The fans were not impressed, chanting and howling. The mood was “sour,” the Sun report said.
Spears returned to the stage about 9:05 p.m., performing for another hour or so as if nothing had happened. And the crowd’s spirits also appeared to lift, the report said.
Spears’ camp later issued a statement, saying: “We want to apologize to all the fans who attended our Vancouver show tonight for the brief pause in Britney’s set. Crew members above the stage became ill due to a ventilation issue.”
Blogger Perez Hilton said Spears’ people were concerned that technicians high above the stage could become dizzy from fans’ marijuana, and he said Spears jokingly warned the crowd, “Don’t smoke weed!” as she left the stage at the end of the concert.
A spokesman for Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, which owns the venue where the show took place told E! Online that early reports about dope smoking were unfounded and that the smoke was believed to be from cigarettes.
But, without being there, one wonders. Pot smoking has been taking place at concerts since the 1960s, and if it is true, one big mystery remains: Do Spears’ young fans roll their own, or get their parents to do it for them?
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12 comments so far
Why can’t she just tell the truth? I have been to enough concerts to know that there has been a lot more smoke (of all kinds)at ACDC, Snoop Dog, Rolling Stones and the list goes on. She had issues with her previously recorded songs. Her lip service was sucking and she had tech problems. Guess she would rather blame Vancouver than take ownership for her show. Way to “pass the buck” while keeping all of yours!
- Posted by Eileen GrahamI was there with my daughter. I have seen many many concerts in my time. This was totally unfounded and a bunch of garbage. I think that this poop star was just out of breath and didn’t want to go back onstage. She looks nothing like her pictures, which hey a few pounds on her is fine. But every time she needed to cross the stage there was some sort of thing to bring her to the other side; like a cage. Also she didn’t sing anything it was all pumped through the machines.
If there was anyway I could get a refund I would.
Honestly I would rather take my kids to ACDC where I know they are going to put on a show.
Don’t waste your money people.
oh and if they don’t want to give me a refund, the money should be giving to the pussy cat dolls. Much better and High class.
- Posted by DiscoS2maybe smoking isn’t so bad after all
- Posted by jdSeriously? Is this for real? My awsome town of supposedly liberal nice hippy people hotboxed an ex drug addict way to go Vancouver for not perpetuating our drug image and way to go orcabay for not doing better at shaking down the kids.. Glad I didn’t send my son.. Idiots..
- Posted by Ex vancouveriteGive us a break Britney! You have never smoked a cigarette or marijuana? You are a spoilt brat with a cupboard full of skeletons! Don’t bother to come to Oz, we couldn’t be bothered with you style of BS!
- Posted by jblowI was there with my daughter. I have seen many many concerts in my time. This was totally unfounded and a bunch of garbage. I think that this poop star was just out of breath and didn’t want to go back onstage. She looks nothing like her pictures, which hey a few pounds on her is fine. But every time she needed to cross the stage there was some sort of thing to bring her to the other side; like a cage. Also she didn’t sing anything it was all pumped through the machines.
If there was anyway I could get a refund I would.
Honestly I would rather take my kids to ACDC where I know they are going to put on a show.
Don’t waste your money people.
oh and if they don’t want to give me a refund, the money should be giving to the pussy cat dolls. Much better and High class.
- Posted by DiscoS2
Thanks for your post. I believe your account to be much more realistic. She was probably out of breath…and blamed the smoke.
- Posted by Penny in CanadaSHE MUST’VE DID A BAD JOB IN CANADA BECAUSE HERE IN NEW YORK SHE DID AN AWESOME JOB I MEAN YOU DO YOU WANT SMOKE IN YOUR FACE THE WHOLE TIME YOU ARE TRYING TO PERFORM?? I THINK SHE IS AN AWESOME ARTIST AND I DONT CARE WHAT ANYONE HAS TO SAY.
- Posted by KIMWho doesn’t know by now that with a Britney Spears concert you’re going to get a lot of T & A and eye-popping stage material that is beneath the likes of Alice Cooper? When your entire show is structured around everything being technically perfect where visuals and audio are concerned, something is bound to be screwed up. When something gets screwed up you better have an excuse to stop the show and reboot. Smoke is as good excuse as any from a two-pack a day smoker.
Good try Britney! What is amazing is there are still fools out there handing their money over to you and getting a fraudulent performance in return!
- Posted by David E.I saw Britney over in Dallas on the last day of March. Her show was very entertaining and I was absolutely blown away by her figure! She’s got a hot bod and isn’t shy about showing it off. That alone makes her show worth seeing even if it might be interrupted because of some future lung cancer patients!
- Posted by Delia Ordonez-TateMe and my friend left early to grab a bite outside of GM place cause we thought the concert BLEW! turns out britney and her crew orderd 600$ worth of food.. theres no ventilation problems.. they just wanted to chow down on chicken fingers and pizza!
- Posted by DeePerhaps we should ask Eric Kantor.
- Posted by squashrotWhat a joke.
- Posted by jason