Chaos erupted outside Kanye West’s secret concert in New York City early Monday morning after thousands of
desperate fans descended on the venue – forcing officials to cancel the event and requiring dozens of police officers to
disperse the crowd.
Kanye was heard asking for Mayor Bill de Blasio to shut down the block in a Snapchat video taken by wife Kim
Kardashian early Monday morning after some people were trampled in a stampede outside the gig.
With no room to move, the street in Manhattan’s East Village was clogged with people charging to get to the front of
the swarm around Webster Hall, and some fans caught in the mayhem claimed they were pepper sprayed.
Chanting ‘Kanye’ and ‘Pablo’, fans climbed on top of cars and scaffolding, and hung out of windows to get a better
view as rumors swirled that the rapper was set to perform his latest album, The Life of Pablo.
A mob of screaming fans went wild and chased the ‘Gold Digger’ rapper when he passed them while hanging out of a
car’s sunroof, and NYPD confirmed one person in the crowd outside the venue was arrested for disorderly conduct.
Kanye scheduled the show at the last minute, after his headline slot at New York’s Governors Ball music festival was
called off due to rain. Kim later posted on Twitter that he wished he could have performed while thanking fans for
showing up at 2am.
In her tweets, Kim acknowledged those who showed up outside Webster Hall and called them the ‘best fans in the whole world’
Fans who went home disappointed may be in luck after all, with Kim promising that Kanye will make up the pop-up show
Furious revelers repeatedly chanted ‘what the f***?’ after Kanye, who turns 39 on Wednesday, tweeted to his 23 million followers that the show was sold out.
It was claimed by a Kanye source that police informed him he would not be allowed to perform out of concern for the safety of the people inside and outside the venue, and he would be arrested for inciting a riot if he showed up.
NYPD said in a statement: ‘Due to the large crowd that gathered outside of the event it was determined that for the safety for all those involved the performance would be canceled.’
In the crowd, there were reports of a woman passing out on a car, people being knocked to the ground as fans rushed to the front and people being pepper sprayed, although both NYPD and FDNY said they had no reports of injuries.
Daily Mail Online confirmed police sprayed the crowd with a substance after a window was smashed.
The crowd was so massive that at one point a line-up of fans stretched more than three blocks from the venue.
People climbed on top of parked cars and a U.S. Postal Service truck in hopes they would spot the rapper, but his performance didn’t go ahead out of concerns for the safety of everyone in the street.
There was further pandemonium when Kanye and hip-hop star Travis Scott drove past fans as they stood out of a sunroof of a car with Kim apparently inside. They were unable to make it inside the venue, however, due to the crowd outside.
One fan posted photos of Kanye and wrote on Twitter that she ran after him on 14th Street, while a student in a nearby dorm shared wild video that showed the screaming mob chasing the car, which had security vehicles in front of and behind it.
People at the scene said a man with a megaphone said the gig had been called off because of the chaos
As word of the concert spread via social media, thousands of fans quickly descended on the venue
Hip-hop star Travis Scott, who was in the car with Kanye, tweeted that they couldn’t get close to the venue
The stars were spotted hanging out of a car’s sunroof as it drove along nearby streets
Kanye (pictured with Kim earlier on Sunday) was set to perform at Webster Hall at 2am after his headline slot at the Governors Ball was called off because of a torrential downpour
Charles Tallent, who was visiting New York from Austin while attending the rained-out Governors Ball, said he raced to Webster Hall after reading rumors on Twitter, and witnessed people being trampled before he eventually caught a glimpse of Kanye and his motorcade.
He told Daily Mail Online a woman in front of him was knocked down and trampled, suffering a nasty wound to her ankle, and there were fears she had broken her leg as well.
Tallent said the woman’s friends lifted her onto the hood of a car and tried to keep her leg elevated, but she was bleeding so badly her blood was running down the side of the vehicle as thousands of people gathered in front of the venue.
He said: ‘When I got there the line from Webster Hall wrapped around three blocks and it was eight deep.
‘It was orderly but people started to get really pushy and, probably around 1am, people had just moved into the street.
‘It was crazy. There were some people getting trampled, people definitely falling on their knees and their friends helping them back up.
‘Everyone was just so hyped and excited to get into this show.’
After the crowd was told to leave Tallent moved a few blocks away, where he spotted a black Mercedes-Benz and several black SUVs.
He said: ‘We were thinking maybe this is Kanye’s entourage and all of a sudden he popped out of the sunroof and that’s when everybody lost their s***.’
The car pulled into the middle of an intersection, where it was rushed by a crowd, and soon began to drive away.
Tallent said around 100 people chased the car but gave up once it had sped off.
Oscar Pope, who travelled from Atlanta to attend the Governors Ball, said people in the crowd were sprayed with a substance not long after the announcement that the show was off.
He told Daily Mail Online: ‘I started coughing and everyone around me started coughing, probably 50 people, everyone started hacking.
‘I tied a bandana around my head and the crowd dispersed within seconds. The people in front of us claimed they were pepper sprayed.
‘I don’t know what it was that happened but the consensus was pepper spray because everyone was hacking and covering their eyes.’
He didn’t see the person or people who sprayed the substance or what led up to it.
After the incident, Pope wrote on Twitter: ‘The scene at Kanye’s Webster Hall show is a full blown riot, complete with pepper spray. So wild!’
Another user, Joe Bergamaschi, wrote: ‘Dog they’re gassing us. Or mad pepper spray. S*** tastes like trash perfume.’
He told Daily Mail Online he doesn’t know who discharged the spray, adding: ‘No one was causing any problems or trying to start fights.’
People at Webster Hall said a man with a megaphone told them the gig had been called off because of the chaos, but the huge throng refused to budge.
‘Ladies and gentleman, there is no show here tonight,’ an employee from Webster Hall shouted.In a video posted on Instagram, a man with a megaphone told the crowd: ‘We don’t want anybody to get hurt. This is potentially dangerous. Please disperse.’
He was jeered by fans and a woman shouted: ‘Where’s Kanye?’
The venue also made the announcement on its Twitter page at 1:45am, asking fans to ‘please get home safely’.
Earlier in the night Kanye was heard on Kim’s Snapchat asking someone to call Mayor Bill de Blasio so he could ‘Close down the block!’. (The mayor replied later Monday with a tweet, saying block parties are ‘planned’ but that he would be more than happy to organize one with Kanye to benefit New York City kids.) Kim also live-streamed scenes as her husband tried in vain to find a new venue for the show.
The Grammy Award winner was set to perform at Webster Hall after his headline slot at the Governors Ball was called off because of a torrential downpour.
Rumors of a surprise gig were fuelled by rapper 2 Chainz, who posted a video online telling his followers there would be ‘good music’ at Webster Hall at 2am, referring to Kanye’s record label G.O.O.D. Music.
He later posted an image of the crowd on Instagram, writing: ‘Dumb’.
Kanye’s creative director, Virgil Abloh, revealed the venue and time in an Instagram snap of the set list
A video clip posted on Twitter showed the mob of screaming fans chasing Kanye’s car down the street
Kanye’s creative director, Virgil Abloh, revealed the venue and time in an Instagram snap of the set list. However, the caption was later changed to say: ‘PABLO – cancelled due to safety priority.’
A publicist for the Yeezy artist said he would perform a secret set, but did not announce where.
Scott sent a series of tweets as he and Kanye made their way to the venue and then tried to find a new location for their performance.
He tweeted: ‘We can’t get close. Come find us we close.’
Moments later, he added: ‘We pulling up make room’.
After the concert was canceled, he wrote: ‘We not giving up. We still figurein This out. Ain’t quitting’.
This, along with rumors, sent fans on a wild-goose chase through Manhattan.
Kanye West and Pusha T perform at MetLife Stadium on Sunday night, shortly before he arrived in New York
NYPD spokesman Officer Christopher Pisano told Daily Mail Online one person was arrested for disorderly conduct, and police did not have any reports of injuries or significant damage to property.
Pisano said: ‘After [Kanye] left the scene the crowd more or less dispersed and moved on.’
He did not have any information about pepper spray being discharged.
Late Monday morning, Kim tweeted: ‘Last night was crazy! Kanye wished he could have performed last night!!!
‘He really tried so hard but it was ultimately out of his control! He has the best fans in the whole world!
‘Thank you all for coming out at 2am. Promise he will make up this pop up show’.
With Kanye’s concerts normally held at huge arenas or stadiums, his team and Webster Hall were criticized online for trying to hold a show at a much smaller venue.
One Instagram user wrote to Abloh: ‘Yooo @virgilabloh what the were you guys thinking hosting an event like this in a venue that holds 1500 people???’
Pope said: ‘It just seemed like no one had it together.’
Webster Hall’s website says its grand ballroom, the largest of its three live performance venues, has a capacity for 1,500 people.
Constructed in 1886, the building was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Police and fire officials tried to clear the area but there was little chance of moving the huge throng of people
