Nicki Minaj blames runway and customs delays for Montreal show starting hours late
Flight mishaps happen to the best of us, but typically there are not 20,000 fans waiting at the Bell Centre for the person on the plane.
Runway and customs hang-ups were to blame for Nicki Minaj taking the stage hours late in Montreal on Wednesday night, said the 41-year-old rapper originally from Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago.
As fans waited past 11 p.m. for Minaj, whose show was scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m., she posted on social media that her flight at around 1 p.m. was delayed until 5 p.m., and then when her team got to the plane, they were told it would be delayed further.
"When we got to the plane, they then said they were 'STILL FUELING,'" Minaj wrote on X.
Minaj would have likely went on stage around 9:30 p.m., as there were opening acts that began playing at 8:45 p.m.
When arriving in Montreal, Minaj said the delays continued at customs after she landed, and that "they did a bunch of stuff they didn't do the last 2 times I came."
"They started searching through my personal purses," she wrote. "Usually, they take me to the car with my purses & check the bigger luggage. Nope. Not this time. They know I have a show, they know we're 20 mins away. They know we don't have a police escort."
As her fans waited in their seats past 11 p.m., Minaj posted to her "barbz" (fans) that she "can't wait to see you."
"The sabotage be real but GOD IS REALER," she said. "We're going to have a magical night. Love you. My apologies. I'm going to get to the bottom of this when I get off stage."
She strolled on stage at just before 11:30 p.m. and finished after 1 a.m.
It is the second time in recent months that a major show at the Bell Centre has started late. Madonna took the stage around 10 p.m. for a show that was supposed to start at 8:30 p.m. Fans in New York are suing the singer over her tardiness for the show there.
The Montreal fans seem to have been forgiving on Minaj's lateness.
"It was a blast! Well worth the wait," said Kristina Kaitlyn Glen, who went to the show with her sister.
"Wow and they tried to stop this amazing wshow from happening!!!" wrote one fan who attended the show. "But God had different plans!!!"
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
Conservative MP says Chinese hacking attack targeted his personal email
A Conservative MP is challenging claims by House of Commons administration that a China-backed hacking attempt did not impact any members of Parliament, because the attack was on his personal email.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.