A premiere of the Lifetime miniseries ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ where several of R.Kelly’s accusers, their families, and journalists were gathered was evacuated on Tuesday night after threats were made against the venue.
via Complex:
The screening at NeueHouse Madison Square began at 7 p.m. ET. However, the venue was evacuated after an anonymous caller told the Manhattan theater that there were gunmen inside the premiere.
Variety reports that the first episode of Surviving R. Kelly had aired and that the night had moved on to a panel discussion with several of the women featured in the docuseries, including Lisa Van Allen, Asante McGee, Lizzette Martinez, Kitti Jones, and Jerhonda Pace, when the call came to evacuate.
“As a precaution we evacuated,” an unnamed Lifetime representative told The Hollywood Reporter.”Tonight’s all about the safety of everyone, we’re not even thinking of what to do next yet.”
Attendees like cultural critic Jamilah Lemieux, #OscarsSoWhite founder April Reign, and author Feminista Jones shared on-the-ground reports of the canceled event on Twitter.
The Hollywood Reporter shared that the calls originated from the Chicago area, though the event was held in New York.
We’re glad everyone was okay.
So…Y’ALL ARE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!
Tonight was a private screening of the @lifetimetv documentary #survivingRkelly where his survivors, parents of survivors, and folks featured in the doc were gathered and a BOMB THREAT was called in and the event shut down. #muteRkelly— Tarana (@TaranaBurke) December 5, 2018
THE #survivingRKelly SCREENING WAS JUST SHUT DOWN BECAUSE OF A THREAT TO THE VENUE
— Jamilah Lemieux (@JamilahLemieux) December 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/FeministaJones/status/1070127689439289344
https://twitter.com/dreamhampton/status/1070167078806700032
