Last month, T-Pain mockingly joked about receiving low ticket sales for the Dallas leg of his “Road to Wiscansin Tour. The “I’m Sprung” vocalist reportedly sold 26 percent of tickets for his show at The Factory in the Deep Ellum district of Dallas on Wednesday, May 18. And now tonight’s show has been canceled. According to Pain, the Dallas show has been rescheduled for June 18 and will be held at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie.
Fans went into a frenzy about the new date, including many who were upset about the last-minute notice. One person tweeted, “@TPAIN BROOOOO. WHY TF DID YOU RESCHEDULE THE DALLAS SHOW?!?! And the day before????? You could’ve changed locations months ago. All my friends are getting refunds now.”
The “Can’t Believe It” vocalist decided to address the backlash from potential concertgoers in a video captured by comedian DL Hughley. The 37-year-old explained that he rescheduled the show due to several crime-related incidents in Deep Ellum last week.
“Y’all I’m never this person, but I got to be this person,” he began in the video taken from his Instagram story. “Look, I understand that you had your plans and you wanted to go to a concert and ‘Oh my God’ this is going to be fun tonight … people f–king died, people f–king died. You think you’re having a worse time than the people that f–king died? Because your concert plans got f–ked up?”
“For all the people that’s saying, ‘Oh man why would you reschedule the day before?’ I’m sorry you didn’t have to reschedule your entire f–king living life for a g– d–n concert. I’d rather not be on tour than to disrespect somebody that f–king died.”
For those unaware, Pain has raised concerns on Twitter about the show’s venue in the Deep Ellum area since April. His concerns heightened after a shooting that took place on Friday, May 13, that killed two men and left three others injured, according to WFAA-TV.
The Grammy-winning artist said he “cares” more about people’s lives than performing at a concert. “I’m sorry that shit didn’t work out for you. Guess who else it didn’t work out for? The people that f–king died the other day,” he shared.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson stepped in to reassure him about the city’s safety, despite a recent rise in violence. He told Pain, “Dallas is the only Top 10 city in the US where violent crime fell last year and overall violent crime is down even more so far this year. So, you and your concert goers should feel safe here.”
However, some called Pain’s bluff, suggesting the changed venue and date had nothing to do with the violence in Dallas.
One person tweeted, “Dude T Pain call it what it is. You blame it on violence but really you did not promote your show. You didn’t do the morning show circuit…nobody knew. That’s on you, T-Pain, not the city of Dallas or the fans. #Dallas.”
