Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Patti LaBelle Stops Atlanta Show to Berate Dirty, Rat- and Roach-Infested Theatre


Singer Patti LaBelle was playing Atlanta's (How y'all doin') Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center last Saturday, but minutes into the show, and after kicking off her heels and walked about the stage (like she does at all of her shows) she stopped to address the general uncleanliness of the venue.

“When is someone going to take the time to fix up this theater? I’ve been coming to this city for 50 years. This isn’t right. You’ve got Mickey mice back there and roaches. I’m a diabetic, and I couldn’t eat back there. I’m up here looking all cute but I’m suffering inside. You all deserve to be sitting in better seats. I can’t stand this place.”

Wow.
According to AJC, upon Patti's arrival at the theatre, she was greeted by a stinky, funky-smelling bathroom and cigarette burns in her dressing room carpet.

And how embarrassing for the city of Atlanta: Its director of cultural affairs, Camille Love, was in attendance that night. Plus, the mayor’s chief of staff, Greg Pridgeon was there who says he didn't see any sign of uncleanliness. But he forgot to mention that after Miss Patti complained, the commissioner for the city’s parks (Dianne Harnell Cohen) dispatched a crew to help spruce up the joint - they cleaned the bathroom and placed a rug over the one with the cigarette burn.

How did they deal with the rats and cockroaches, though?

Cohen said the theatre is old and "no public money is spent to upkeep it". So they can only afford to clean the place when it's rented for a show. That's just nasty!

After giving the kids a two-hour show, Miss Patti said, “If I said something to offend anyone. Miss Patti went there.”

You did and we love it, Miss Patti! You let them have it, diva!

0 comments:

Post a Comment