Lady Gaga performing in Brazil on May 3. Credit :
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
- Two people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to set off explosives at Lady Gaga’s May 3 concert in Rio de Janeiro, according to police
- Authorities said that the suspects were targeting Brazil’s LGBTQ+ community attending the show
- A spokesperson for Gaga said the singer only “learned about this alleged bomb via media reports,” per The Hollywood Reporter
Two people have been arrested in connection to an alleged bomb threat at Lady Gaga’s record-breaking concert in Rio de Janeiro, according to reports.
A man and a teenager were arrested hours before the singer’s free concert at Copacabana Beach on Saturday, May 3, over an alleged plot to target Brazil’s LGBTQ+ community with explosives, The Guardian reported, citing the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro.
A spokesperson for Gaga, 39, said the singer had no idea about the alleged bomb threat at her show until it was reported in the media, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“We learned about this alleged threat via media reports this morning,” Gaga’s rep said in a statement, per the outlet. “Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks.”
“Her team worked closely with law enforcement throughout the planning and execution of the concert and all parties were confident in the safety measures in place,” the spokesperson added.
Lady Gaga performs at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on May 3. Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Gaga performed to her biggest crowd to date of an estimated 2.5 million people — and the highest attended concert by a female artist in history — at her Rio concert on Saturday. The show went off without a hitch, despite the potential danger posed to concertgoers due to the alleged bomb threat.
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro said in a press conference on Sunday, May 4, that the pair arrested were working together to “recruit” people at the concert to carry out “coordinated attacks” with “homemade explosives.” The suspects were reportedly targeting Brazil’s LGBTQIA+ community.
The police said, per CNN News 18, “Since Monday, our police and intelligence received information that there would be a plan in these digital platforms to commit a bomb attack with homemade explosive artifacts in Molotov cocktails which will be used during the show of singer Lady Gaga on May 3, mainly targeting the LGBTQIA+ public.”
The alleged leader of the group was arrested on illegal weapons possession charges, and a teenager on child pornography charges, after a police raid at 15 locations in pursuit of the group, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Lady Gaga performs her concert at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on May 3. DANIEL RAMALHO/AFP via Getty
Rio police chief, Luiz Lima, said the group used hate speech and violent content online “aimed at gaining notoriety to attract more participants – most of them teenagers, many of them children,” per The Guardian.
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Following her Rio concert on Saturday, Gaga wrote on Instagram the following day, “Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night’s show — the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil. The sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away … your culture is so vibrant and special, I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historical moment with you.”
“An estimated 2.5 million people came to see me sing, the biggest crowd for any woman in history. I wish I could share this feeling with the whole world … Thank you Rio for waiting for me to come back. Thank you little monsters all over the world. I love you. I will never forget this moment. Paws up little monsters. Obrigada. Love, Mother Monster,” the singer concluded.
A representative for Gaga did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
