Police stopped a planned bombing attack at a Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday, May 3rd.
According to Mike Ives from The New York Times, “The police in Brazil said on Sunday that they had foiled a plot to detonate explosives at a Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro, an event that, by some estimates, drew more than two million people” (May 5th, 2025). This article says the announcement was made by Rio de Janeiro’s the day after Lady Gaga’s free concert on Copacabana Beach.
According to AP News, “Felipe Cury, secretary of the Rio police, said authorities believed the suspects sought to target Brazil’s LGBTQ community” (May 4th, 2025).
The previous AP News article also says that, “Even as Brazilian authorities said they arrested suspects in the hours before Lady Gaga’s show, the event went ahead without disruption — leading some to question the seriousness of the threat. Serious security concerns typically lead organizers to cancel such massive events — as happened with Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna last year” (May 4th, 2025). According to this article, a spokesperson for Lady Gaga said that the star and her team, “learned about this alleged threat via media reports this morning. Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks” (May 4th, 2025).
Emily McGarvey from the BBC, “The justice ministry said the suspects had identified themselves as Lady Gaga fans, known widely as ‘Little Monsters’. Police issued search warrants across the states of Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul and Sao Paulo, and electronic devices and other materials were seized. ‘Operation Fake Monster’ was launched following a tip-off from Rio state police intelligence, which uncovered online groups encouraging violence among teenagers using coded language and extremist symbolism” (May 4th, 2025).
