Lionel Richie Delivers On-Stage Apology After Canceling Previous Concert

Lionel Richie has apologized for canceling a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden. During the postponed concert that was supposed to take place on Saturday at the massive New York City venue, the “Hello” singer took to the stage Monday to explain what had led to him canceling the previously scheduled show a couple of days earlier.

“I had two ‘No’s at the same time… [and] When God says no, and then the pilot says no, the answer [is no],” said Richie. As he addressed the MSG crowd, Richie joked, “I tried to bribe the pilot, and the pilot said, ‘I do want to see my wife tomorrow.’” “So tonight, we are going to make up for that,” he said as he sat down at his piano. “I apologize a thousand times. But tonight, let’s start off easy like Sunday morning, y’all.”

The 74-year-old “All Night Long” singer was scheduled to perform with Earth, Wind & Fire on Saturday; however, the event was canceled and rescheduled for Aug. 14 after the venue had already been filled with fans. In a tweet at 8:30 p.m., Richie announced that the show would not take place, sharing, “Due to severe weather and being unable to land in the NY and surrounding areas, I’m unable to make it to the show tonight. I’m so bummed.”

As a result of Richie’s initial cancellation of the event, there was a great deal of backlash from the fans who had already gathered to support him. “There was a lot of anger,” one pediatric nurse who paid $170 for seats in the event told The New York Post. “We went out of the way to get the weekend off, and now I can’t go on Monday,” said the nurse, who The Post said arrived with her husband and colleague from Long Island. “Does he think it’s easy for me to take off Monday night? This is New York. We work.”

When asked what she would tell the “Endless Love” singer, she said, “Hope you’re OK but you should have taken a limo for your fans for four hours. He’s loaded … take a f— limo.” As The Post reported, a married couple who frequents MSG to watch concerts told the publication that they became suspicious when the show hadn’t begun 45 minutes after its start time. “You can’t sell out Madison Square Garden and [cancel due to] a weather issue. I’m frustrated and I’m concerned — I think it might be something else. I’m worried that it’s something else and that [the weather] was an excuse,” the woman said.