MONTGOMERY, Alabama (AP):
A CHARITY appearance by rap star Ludacris at Montgomery Mall was cut short last week after two small fights broke out.
Ludacris donated US$300 (euro225) in toys to the WZHT Hot 105/Magic 97 13th annual Children of Christmas Campaign and was signing autographs and posing for pictures at the mall's newly-opened store Citi Gear.
Although scheduled for two hours, he was asked to leave by police after about 20 minutes when security could not control the crowd, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. Well over 100 people had been waiting for more than 30 minutes for the rapper to arrive.
"I would have liked to stay, but I understand I was part of the problem," Ludacris, a College Park, Georgia, native, told the newspaper.
"We expected a lot of people to show up but not to this degree," said Kristy Jansen, marketing director at Montgomery Mall.
Montgomery police said no arrests were made and declined further comment.
Those who attended were not pleased.
"They clearly weren't prepared for this or had no idea how big an artist he was," said Tiffany Jones, of Montgomery, who had brought her two children to see the rapper. "Security was inadequate, and it was an unsafe environment."
