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Britney Spears Delays Vancouver Concert Due to Marijuana Smoke

By 
April 9, 2009 9:30 AM ET

Britney Spears stopped performing halfway through her concert at the GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, after smoky conditions and ventilation problems forced the singer and her dancers to leave the stage for more than 30 minutes, the Vancouver Sun writes in their concert review. After performing a few songs, Spears and her dancers vanished for no reason, leaving the impatient crowd to chant and do the wave in complete darkness. (Check out photos of Britney's Circus show.)

After about 20 minutes, a voice came over the loudspeaker to tell concertgoers that smoking marijuana and cigarettes is illegal at GM Place. "It's become uncomfortable and unsafe for the performers, including Ms. Spears. The show will resume as soon as the air around the stage is clear," the announcement said. After performing the final encore, Spears walked offstage with the words, "Thanks Vancouver. You were wonderful. Drive safe. Don't smoke weed! Rock out with your cocks out!" Yes, this really happened (watch the video above).

Sources tell Perez Hilton that throngs of people smoking marijuana in the crowd were the cause of the delay: "We were concerned for the lighting guys and everyone else working on the show. If one of those guys up above got dizzy or sick from all that marijuana smoke… It wouldn't have been pretty." Spears' camp issued a statement after the concert, saying, "We want to apologize to all the fans who attended our Vancouver show tonight for the brief pause in Britney's set. Crew members above the stage became ill due to a ventilation issue." Let us remind you this was a Britney Spears concert, not a Phish show — did you guys really need a doobie to get through "Toxic"?

Related Stories:

• Britney Spears' "Circus" Spectacle Draws Madonna to New York Show: Full Report
• Photo Gallery: Britney Spears' Sexy Circus
• Britney Spears' Life in Photos: A Timeline of Her Rise, Fall and Comeback

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