Kamasi Washington performed at Vienna's Arena Wien venue in Austria last night (July 8), but the show was cut short after a security guard allegedly assaulted his father.
Rickey Washington, who is also a touring member of his son's band, was allegedly assaulted when they arrived at the venue.
Onstage, Kamasi said, "The reason why we're late tonight is because a security guard here assaulted my father, Rickey Washington. I met this man face to face. He looked at me and laughed. He said, 'He was acting like an asshole.' I said, 'You don't get to do that to him. We're all going to leave.'"
The band played one song — "Truth," from 2017's Harmony of Difference EP — and left the venue.
Arena Wien has since released a statement apologizing for the misunderstanding while also defending its position. According to a rough Google translation of the statement, Arena Wien claims Rickey Washington attempted to enter the venue through the public entrance long before doors were open, at which point he became embroiled in a heated exchange with a security guard. The argument lasted for 10 minutes, and the venue felt it was necessary to tell us that Rickey called the security guard a "stupid punk ass bitch" in their exchange.
The statement continued by stating that "structural racism is a problem," adding that "the incidents are very sad for us." They have announced plans to refund ticket money to attendees and donate "the entire cash turnover" of the event to an undisclosed charity.
You can also read a statement about the controversy from Kamasi Washington's drummer, Tony Austin, below. "That was not cool," Austin wrote, adding a #fuckracism hashtag.
Rickey Washington, who is also a touring member of his son's band, was allegedly assaulted when they arrived at the venue.
Onstage, Kamasi said, "The reason why we're late tonight is because a security guard here assaulted my father, Rickey Washington. I met this man face to face. He looked at me and laughed. He said, 'He was acting like an asshole.' I said, 'You don't get to do that to him. We're all going to leave.'"
The band played one song — "Truth," from 2017's Harmony of Difference EP — and left the venue.
Arena Wien has since released a statement apologizing for the misunderstanding while also defending its position. According to a rough Google translation of the statement, Arena Wien claims Rickey Washington attempted to enter the venue through the public entrance long before doors were open, at which point he became embroiled in a heated exchange with a security guard. The argument lasted for 10 minutes, and the venue felt it was necessary to tell us that Rickey called the security guard a "stupid punk ass bitch" in their exchange.
The statement continued by stating that "structural racism is a problem," adding that "the incidents are very sad for us." They have announced plans to refund ticket money to attendees and donate "the entire cash turnover" of the event to an undisclosed charity.
You can also read a statement about the controversy from Kamasi Washington's drummer, Tony Austin, below. "That was not cool," Austin wrote, adding a #fuckracism hashtag.
