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Ella Langley is speaking out about her decision to cancel her concert in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following a reported bomb threat.
The 27-year-old country star addressed the cancellation while performing in Lubbock, Texas, one day after calling off her sold-out Friday night show at Tulsa’s BOK Center.
Langley became emotional while explaining why she decided not to perform despite police finding no credible threat.
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“I was put in charge of a decision for 15,000 people and I decided to make the decision that I could live with the rest of my life,” the “Choosin’ Texas” hitmaker told the crowd on Saturday night at the United Supermarkets Arena, according to Taste of Country.
Ella Langley is standing by her decision to cancel her Friday night concert in Oklahoma after a bomb threat. (FilmMagic)
“Because when it comes to keeping you safe and making sure that this show is a safe place for us to come and enjoy our music, then it will happen,” she continued. “But the second, it feels like it’s not, I’m not doing it. I’m not doing it because a concert’s not worth a human life. It’s not.”
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“And so I would have made yesterday’s decision ten billion times over,” she added. “And I’d do it tomorrow and I’d do it the next day.”
Langley went on to explain that the safety of her fans outweighed her desire to perform.
The country star said that a concert is “not worth a human life.” (Getty Images for SiriusXM)
“Because while I’m grateful to get to do what I do, it’s not the most important thing in this life,” she said. “What’s the most important thing in this life is the people around you that love you and that are there for you no matter what.”
“The most important thing in this life is that you wake up every day and feel like, ‘You know what, I’m good today. I am so grateful to have woken up today,'” Langley continued.
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“The most important thing in this life, number one, is your relationship with Jesus Christ,” she added.
Langley admitted that she nearly canceled Saturday’s concert in Texas because she was still shaken by the incident. However, she credited her faith in Jesus with giving her the courage to return to the stage.
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“If it wasn’t for Him,” I would have canceled this show tonight,” she told the crowd. “I would have.”
“But I felt this calling and this tug in my chest saying, ‘It’s OK. We are safe. We can do this show,'” Langley continued. “And I decided to do it because of Him right there. And that’s the only reason.”
Langley shared that she almost canceled her Saturday night concert due to the scare. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
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“I’m not gonna live in fear,” Langley added. “We’re going to put on music and get to do this for the rest of our lives. And I know that. I know because this is my calling. This is the thing that I was called to do, and I’m going to continue doing it. Nobody is going to take me out of it or scare me out.”
Langley expressed her gratitude to her fans for coming to her Texas show despite the frightening incident at the Oklahoma concert.
“I know yesterday was scary, it was scary for all of us,” she said. “But we’re just so grateful to be playing this show tonight. We’re so grateful and we will never take this for granted. We love it, we love what we do. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
“Tonight I can tell that y’all knew that I’ve needed what you’ve given me. And this band and this crew — you knew that we needed this show tonight, so thank you so much for giving it to us,” Langley added.
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Langley announced the cancelation of Friday night’s concert on Instagram approximately two hours before the show was scheduled to begin.
Langley announced the cancellation two hours before the show was set to begin. (Getty Images)
“Due to a serious security threat involving the safety of my fans, the venue staff, and my team, the incredibly difficult decision was made to cancel tonight’s show. This decision was made under the advisement of local authorities, the venue, and my security team,” the singer began.
She said the decision followed guidance from local authorities, venue officials and her security team, adding that she refused to put anyone in danger.
“I know how much time, travel, money, and planning goes into coming to a show, and I can’t tell you how sorry I am. This is not a decision that was made lightly. I was so looking forward to spending tonight with you, but your safety will always mean more to me than anything else. I refuse to put anyone in harm’s way,” the country music star’s statement concluded.
The BOK Center also released a statement on Friday. “The safety and well-being of everyone involved is our absolute priority, and after careful consideration, we have determined that the show cannot proceed. We understand the disappointment this news brings and apologize to fans who planned to attend. The safety of fans is our foremost concern and will always come first,” the statement read.
The official Instagram account for the BOK Center said that ticket refunds and additional information will be shared as soon as possible.
Tulsa police said that they swept the venue again after a call threatening gunfire and bombs. (John Schearer)
Langley’s explanation for her decision to cancel the concert comes after the Tulsa Police Department said that they found no credible threat to the event.
In a since-deleted statement posted to Facebook, the department explained that officers had conducted routine security sweeps before the concert using K-9 units, bomb technicians, patrol officers and venue security personnel and “did not find anything” dangerous.
“A call was made threatening the lives of people attending the event,” they continued. “Out of an abundance of caution, we swept the building and surrounding area and again found no credible threat to the event’s safety. We advised the performer’s staff that we found no credible threat to the event, but they decided to cancel the performance anyway.”
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Tulsa Police Department Capt. Richard Meulenberg provided additional details in a video posted to Facebook that has since been deleted. Meulenberg said that after the first security sweeps, “the event was ready to go,” according to Saving Country Music.
“And then what happened was a call came in, saying that someone was going to [do] great harm to the people here at this event in the way of shots fired and bombs. So we came out again in an overabundance of caution, used our bomb dogs again, searched the entire area, we could not find a credible threat here at the BOK Center,” he said. “We apologize to everyone who came down to the Tulsa area for this. But everything is safe.”
Langley is currently on her The Dandelion Tour. (Terry Wyatt/WireImage via Getty Images)
In an interview with Tulsa news station Fox23, Meulenberg also emphasized that the department did not recommend canceling the concert.
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We could not find anything that would make that a credible threat. We advised the group here that was supposed to perform that we could not find a credible threat. We never advised them they should not continue to have their event. They made the decision upon themselves to cancel the event even though we could not find a credible threat.”
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A spokesperson later told “Good Morning America” that the incident remains under investigation, with the FBI assisting.
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The shows scheduled in Tulsa and Lubbock were part of Langley’s The Dandelion Tour in support of her second studio album, “Dandelion.” The arena tour began May 7 in Toledo, Ohio, and was extended with 21 additional dates.
Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller and Janelle Ash contributed to this report.
