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Lady Gaga performs at Copacabana Beach on May 3, 2025 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Two people were arrested in Brazil for allegedly planning to bomb Lady Gaga's free concert.
Two people were arrested in Brazil for allegedly planning to bomb Lady Gaga's free concert.
Lady Gaga's Saturday concert in Brazil made history — in spite of a planned bomb attack and "satanic ritual."
The record-breaking show at Copacabana Beach was the target of a failed ambush that Rio de Janeiro police said was aimed at the LGBTQ+ community. Here's everything we know so far.
Rio de Janeiro police announced Sunday that they had arrested two people in connection to a planned attack at Lady Gaga's free concert on Copacabana Beach Saturday night. The two allegedly sought to recruit teenagers to detonate Molotov cocktails and homemade explosives.
The alleged leader of the group was arrested on illegal weapons possession charges, and a teenager was arrested on child pornography charges. The two reportedly sought to post as "Little Monsters," the name Gaga has given her fans, leading police to dub their investigation "Operation Fake Monster."
A third person was arrested after subsequent investigations by police for allegedly planning to carry out a “satanist ritual by killing a child or a baby” during the concert, and was charged with terrorism offenses.
The goal of the planned bombings at Lady Gaga's performance was “gaining notoriety on social media,” officials said at a press conference Sunday, multiple outlets reported. The suspects intended to primarily target the LGBTQ+ community, as Gaga has a large queer fanbase.
“They were clearly saying that they were planning an attack at Lady Gaga’s concert motivated by sexual orientation,” said Felipe Cury, secretary of the Rio police.
Police Chief Luiz Lima added that the group had spread hate speech and violent content on social media “aimed at gaining notoriety in order to attract more viewers, more participants — most of them teenagers, many of them children.”
Lady Gaga's team said that they became aware of the planned bombings through news coverage the next morning, and that there were no known safety concerns ahead of the concert.
“We learned about this alleged threat via media reports this morning,” a spokesperson for the singer said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks. Her team worked closely with law enforcement throughout the planning and execution of the concert and all parties were confident in the safety measures in place.”
Gaga herself had responded to the record-breaking attendance numbers the night before, writing in a post on Instagram that "an estimated 2.5 million people came to see me sing, the biggest crowd for any woman in history."
"Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night’s show — the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil," she wrote. "The sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away. Your heart shines so bright, your culture is so vibrant and special, I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historical moment with you."
Lady Gaga’s show in Brazil was part of her global tour promoting her new album, Mayhem. The city of Rio de Janeiro has been sponsoring free concerts on the famous Copacabana Beach in an effort to promote tourism and boost the local economy. Madonna played a show to about 1.6 million fans on the beach last year, and similar events are planned through May 2028.
Organizers said that over 2.5 million people attended Lady Gaga's concert at Copacabana Beach, approximately 500,000 of whom travelled from abroad to attend. The concert marked the biggest in Gaga's career, and the largest-attended show by a woman musician in history, surpassing Madonna's show in Brazil last year.
Rod Stewart still holds the largest free concert Guinness World Record for his show at the same beach on New Years Eve in 1994. Over 4 million people were in attendance.
