Kanye West Ends Meadows Set Early After Kim Kardashian Robbed at Gunpoint in Paris
Kanye Westended his set early Sunday night (Oct. 2) at Meadows Festival in Queens, New York City, after receiving news that his wife, Kim Kardashian, was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room.
“Kim Kardashian West was held up at gunpoint inside her Paris hotel room this evening, by two armed masked men dressed as police officers. She is badly shaken but physically unharmed,” her spokesperson Ina Treciokas said in a statement to Billboard.
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The robbers took valuables worth several millions of dollars, mostly jewelry, police told the BBC, noting, “The total amount is still being evaluated.” The incident happened around 3 a.m. local time in Paris at a discreet luxury residence behind the Madeleine Church, where Kardashian stayed at least once before, in 2014, before her marriage to West. Police were guarding the site Monday.
Kim Kardashian and her sisters Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian are in Paris for fashion week. Prior to the incident, Kim shared footage from a Givenchy fashion show on her Snapchat.
Kanye, who was headlining the festival, went onstage at 8:45 p.m. He was scheduled to perform until 10 p.m., but ended his set at 9:40, halfway through the song “Heartless,” announcing: “I’m sorry, family emergency, I have to stop the show.”
The set was a makeup of sorts for his scheduled Governors Ball performance, which was canceled in anticipation of a lightning storm that never arrived. The promoters of Governors Ball, Founders Entertainment, also are behind this inaugural Meadows Festival.
West hit the stage a little after 8:45 to a full fireworks display before breaking into “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1,” with the big screens on the sides of the stage dark. When he launched into “Famous,” the screens suddenly came to life, with Yeezy, bathed in a red glow, rapping the lyrics determinedly while wearing a Tupac shirt. He then went into an abbreviated set of his recent featured verses — Drake’s “Pop Style,” ScHoolboy Q’s “THat Part,” then a run through of “Mercy,” Chief Keef’s “Don’t Like” and his own “All Day” — while standing on the railings separating him from the crowd. He then returned to the stage for some of his older hits, including “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” and “Power.”
An emotional “Blood on the Leaves,” “New Slaves,” “Jesus Walks” and “Flashing Lights” followed and had fans singing along. “Wolves” was the last full song he got through, before briefly starting “Heartless” and leaving the stage.
Founders Entertainment released a statement about the incident: “Due to a family emergency, Kanye West was forced to end his performance towards the end of his set. We appreciate the great show he put on for fans to close out the inaugural Meadows Festival. Our thoughts are with West and his family.”
See video of his departure here:
Kanye just cut his #themeadowsnyc set short, citing a “family emergency.” pic.twitter.com/Yg6VQC5ieQ
— Genius (@Genius) October 3, 2016
This post will be updated soon with more information.
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