The weekend saw outrage at the video of Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister, dancing to Taylor Swift during a concert in Montreal amid a destructive demonstration.
Trudeau attended the Taylor Swift concert at Toronto’s Rogers Centre on Friday night. He represents a Montreal district. In a viral video on X, the Canadian politician can be seen dancing and singing to “You Don’t Own Me” before Swift took to the stage.
Toronto is approximately 280 miles west of Ottawa, the Canadian capital. It’s also 330 miles west of the Montreal district Trudeau represents.
On the same evening, anti-NATO protesters marched with Palestinian flags through the streets in Montreal. The Montreal Gazette reported that the rioters had set cars ablaze and fought with the police.
The protesters also hurled metal objects and small explosives at the officers. The group also burned an effigy based on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trudeau’s image dancing in the middle of protests in his hometown sparked online outrage. Social media users compared Trudeau with Nero, a notorious Roman emperor who was known for “fiddling as Rome burned.”
Don Stewart, a member of parliament (MP) who represents a part of Toronto in a blog post on X, criticized the prime minister.
“Lawless protesters run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest. The Prime Minister dances,” Stewart wrote. “This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.”
The MP said, “Bring law and order back to Canada and bring safe streets and communities that we loved in the Canada of old.”
Trudeau condemned the protests on Saturday and called them “appalling.”
The Canadian leader described the scenes on the streets of Montreal as “appalling”. “Antisemitism and other forms of violence, intimidation, and intimidation must be condemned everywhere we see it.”
The RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] is in contact with the local police. Rioters must be held accountable and there must be consequences.
