13 Dec: Luda in Mall DramaFighting broke out at
a shopping mall in Montgomery on Thursday (9 Dec) night where rapper Ludacris was making a charity appearance, forcing the
event - which was due to last two hours - to be cut to only twenty minutes.
Luda - who had donated $300 worth of toys
to the WZHT Hot 105/Magic 97 13th annual Children of Christmas Campaign - was signing autographs and posing for photographs
at the Alabama shopping centre when the crowd became unruly and security guards lost control. According to a local newspaper,
more than 100 people had been waiting for more than half-an-hour for the rapper to arrive. They were required to donate a
toy or money to the campaign in order to receive an autograph or a photograph.
An orderly line on one side of the
store's entrance was formed for those that did, but a fight broke out near the back of the crowd. Security moved in to deal
with the situation and police closed the security gate of the store in order to protect the rapper. The crowd began chanting
"Luda" and apparently became uncontrollable - the sight of the rapper waving from inside the store only incited them further.
However, no arrests were made.
Ludacris told the
Montgomery Advertiser: "I would have liked to stay, but I
understand I was part of the problem. I tried to talk to them because I wanted the crowd to understand why I had to leave."
"We expected a lot of people to show up but not to this degree," said Kristy Jansen, marketing director for Montgomery
Mall. But a fan told the paper: "They clearly weren't prepared for this or had no idea how big an artist he was. Security
was inadequate, and it was an unsafe environment."
