A pair of women had their evening interrupted while at Jack White's Canadian tour kickoff in Edmonton over the weekend, with a Rogers Place employee deeming a kiss between the two concertgoers to be "inappropriate sexual behaviour."
Allyson MacIvor and a friend were watching White and his band play the White Stripes' classic "Seven Nation Army" on Friday (November 2) when they turned to each other for a kiss, CBC reports. But the two were then quickly confronted by a Rogers Place usher who asked them to stop.
"I embraced my girlfriend, and some staff member came in between us, and she said, 'This is not allowed here,'" MacIvor said, adding that the usher then placed her hand in between them. "It was very violating and invasive. It's not something I'd ever imagine experiencing, honestly."
MacIvor and her friend — who are not in a relationship — were then escorted by the usher to a manager, who ordered the employee to resume her post after the pair explained what had happened.
"[The manager] apologized profusely, but it still didn't help the incident and the hurt that came out of this," MacIvor recalled, adding that she and her friend filled out an incident report.
MacIvor — a music industry professional who has played with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, tour managed Whitehorse and more — made the decision to share her experience on Facebook.
"It's a professional platform, so I always hesitated to do that, and this was actually the first time that I announced to the world that I was gay," she said. Her post has since been shared nearly 400 times.
CBC adds that news of the incident ended up getting back to White, who made mention of what had happened onstage in Calgary the following night on November 3. He then dedicated his evening's performance of "Love Interruption" to the pair.
Both Rogers Place and Oilers Entertainment Group apologized to MacIvor and her friend, offering dinner and a free show of their choice to make up for the negative experience. MacIvor also extended the invite to the usher as well.
"I would love to get to know this employee on a more personal and deeper level than the events that just happened... So hopefully we'll go out for dinner and have an amazing time," MacIvor said. "This employee and I can just get to know each other as people and move past this in a healthier way."
White is set to play Winnipeg this evening before making stops in London, Ottawa, Laval, Quebec City, Moncton and Halifax. You can find his complete Canadian itinerary here.
Allyson MacIvor and a friend were watching White and his band play the White Stripes' classic "Seven Nation Army" on Friday (November 2) when they turned to each other for a kiss, CBC reports. But the two were then quickly confronted by a Rogers Place usher who asked them to stop.
"I embraced my girlfriend, and some staff member came in between us, and she said, 'This is not allowed here,'" MacIvor said, adding that the usher then placed her hand in between them. "It was very violating and invasive. It's not something I'd ever imagine experiencing, honestly."
MacIvor and her friend — who are not in a relationship — were then escorted by the usher to a manager, who ordered the employee to resume her post after the pair explained what had happened.
"[The manager] apologized profusely, but it still didn't help the incident and the hurt that came out of this," MacIvor recalled, adding that she and her friend filled out an incident report.
MacIvor — a music industry professional who has played with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, tour managed Whitehorse and more — made the decision to share her experience on Facebook.
"It's a professional platform, so I always hesitated to do that, and this was actually the first time that I announced to the world that I was gay," she said. Her post has since been shared nearly 400 times.
CBC adds that news of the incident ended up getting back to White, who made mention of what had happened onstage in Calgary the following night on November 3. He then dedicated his evening's performance of "Love Interruption" to the pair.
Both Rogers Place and Oilers Entertainment Group apologized to MacIvor and her friend, offering dinner and a free show of their choice to make up for the negative experience. MacIvor also extended the invite to the usher as well.
"I would love to get to know this employee on a more personal and deeper level than the events that just happened... So hopefully we'll go out for dinner and have an amazing time," MacIvor said. "This employee and I can just get to know each other as people and move past this in a healthier way."
White is set to play Winnipeg this evening before making stops in London, Ottawa, Laval, Quebec City, Moncton and Halifax. You can find his complete Canadian itinerary here.