Streaker momentarily steals Juno stage in Edmonton
A shirtless woman stole the Junos stage at Rogers Place for a few minutes Monday evening before being escorted away by security.
Around half an hour into the televised broadcast for Canada's biggest awards in music, musician Avril Lavigne was on stage to introduce the next performer, rapper and hip hop artist AP Dhillon.
"I will always remember my first Junos 20 years ago," Lavigne said. "And so much has changed since then, but one thing that will never change is how incredible of an experience it is to perform in front of Junos fans."
As the topless woman entered the stage behind Lavigne, the televised feed quickly cut away so that the streaker was out of frame.
But a number of attendees in the audience at Rogers Place saw and taped the entire incident.
The woman appeared to have words scrawled across her upper body and torso, with a portion saying "Land back."
An image of the streaker that stormed the Juno stage and taping in Edmonton on Monday, March 13, 2023 (Supplied).
Lavigne told the woman, "Get the f**k off," as the arena crowd cheered and security guards came on stage. It took security almost a minute to respond.
As the broadcast concluded, host Simu Liu congratulated all the award winners and nominees and said, "Sorry for the boobs."
In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) said the Juno Awards celebrates the country's music and the artists that create it.
"We take every step to avoid interruptions to our program, but there are always risks with live events and broadcasts," the CARAS statement read.
"We hope tonight's brief disruption doesn't take away from the accomplishments of this year's performers, winners and nominees."
'SHE JUST KEPT FIGHTING THROUGH'
Audience member Jennie Marshall said Lavigne did "a great job handling" the protest.
"There's always a place and a time for protesting," Marshall said. "I don't think the Junos was it.
"I will say unless you were right on the floor or maybe at home, we don't know what she was protesting. We were pretty close, but we still have no idea what the protest was about."
James Beaudry, who was also in the crowd, commended Lavigne for keeping her cool.
"It was a good chuckle," he said.
"Honestly, I would've acted the same way," said Grace Skoke, another attendee, when asked about the incident.
"It's for families and stuff. Keep the boobies for other audiences."
Audience member Alishah Qassamali agreed, saying, "It was not OK."
"I think she [Lavigne] did a fantastic job," Qassamali added. "She addressed it and she just kept fighting through."
On Tuesday, local police told CTV News the woman, 37, was charged with mischief.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard found not guilty of sexual assault
Former Headley singer Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northern Ontario.
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
Following child's death in Ontario, here's what you need to know about rabies
An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom, which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019.
NDP house leader laments 'agents of chaos' in precarious Parliament
NDP House leader Peter Julian says there's more his party wants to do in Parliament before the next election, but if the current dysfunction continues it will become a factor in how they vote on a confidence measure.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Here's what the jury didn't hear in Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial
A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
2 dead after fire rips through historic building in Old Montreal
At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.