Couldn’t Hold Us Back

Jack White Slams Concert Venue That Stopped Gay Kiss

A concertgoer whose same-sex kiss was broken up by an usher at a Canadian Jack White gig has received a resounding message of support from the musician.

Former White Stripes frontman Jack White has expressed his dismay after a same-sex couple were ordered to stop kissing by an employee at a Canadian venue during a performance of his hit song “Seven Nation Army.”

White spoke out after a growing furor about the incident in which Allyson MacIvor kissed her friend during a concert last week at Edmonton’s Rogers Place, only to be confronted by an usher who told her “This is not allowed here.” 

The usher placed her hand in between them and asked them to stop, MacIvor said, in a Facebook post that subsequently went viral.

She wrote: “It was very violating and invasive. It’s not something I’d ever imagine experiencing, honestly.”

Incredibly, after interrupting the kiss, the usher then escorted the pair to talk to a manager. After telling the manager what had happened, the supervisor apologized “profusely,” MacIvor said, and the employee was told to resume her post.

“It’s 2018 now and two people expressing affection shouldn’t have to hide,” White said in an Instagram post that depicts what he describes as a “lesbian couple sharing a kiss at a Beatles concert” in 1964. “The news that two women were stopped from kissing during my show in Edmonton really disappointed me.”

On Saturday, White played in Calgary, where he acknowledged what happened to MacIvor and her friend. He dedicated the song Love Interruption to the pair and urged concert goers to kiss.

MacIvor said she has accepted an apology from the venue—and a free ticket to Fleetwood Mac this weekend.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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