‘I tried to bribe the pilot’
Lionel Richie was forced to issue an apology to a sea of concertgoers for having to cancel his sold-out gig in New York City one hour after showtime on Saturday.
The “All Night Long” hitmaker, 74, was all smiles Monday as he finally beat the weather and made it to Madison Square Garden as part of his tour with Earth, Wind, and Fire.
During the rescheduled show at Madison Square Garden, Richie apologized to fans “a thousand times” for having to pull the plug on Saturday’s gig.
“I had two ‘no’s to come at the same time,” Richie said in footage captured by fans. “And when those two decided it’s a no — when God says no and when the pilot says no, the answer … I tried to bribe the pilot.”
The Grammy winner said poor weather conditions caused the delay in getting to the Big Apple.
“And the pilot said, ‘I do want to see my wife tomorrow.’ So tonight we are going to make up for that. I apologize for that a thousand times.”
An hour after the concert was scheduled to begin, the “Hello” singer broke the news to fans on Saturday that he would not perform at the historic venue despite his best attempts to fly into the New York area.
“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,” Richie posted in a statement on X — formally known as Twitter.
“I’m so bummed. We are rescheduling the show to Monday Aug 14. Can’t wait to perform for you all. Tickets for tonight’s show are valid for the show on Monday.”
“We bought our parents good seats for a lot of money for their 50th wedding anniversary. They’re 75 and were really looking forward to tonight’s show. Thanks for ruining the gift we got for them,” one Twitter user wrote.
Earth, Wind and Fire needed to rearrange its schedule to accommodate Richie’s travel problems.
The group was scheduled to perform in Bridgeport on Monday night but has since postponed the show for Wednesday to play the makeup gig.
Despite the letdown, one person who remains beaming with pride over Richie is his daughter Sofia.
The model, 24, gushed about her “role model” father in an interview with Town & Country, saying he handles fame with “such grace.”
“He embraces everyone who comes up to him. He’s appreciative, he’s thankful,” she told the outlet.
“He’s taught me to never have that ‘Oh God, not today’ attitude. He’s another level of megastar, and my whole life I’ve watched him. I’ve never seen him say no to a picture. I’ve never seen him be rude to anyone who walks up to him on the street.”
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