--- description: Kanye West abruptly ended a performance in New York City on Sunday night, citing a "family emergency" title: Kanye West Ends Concert Early Due to a 'Family Emergency' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf7be7353b2d0157/6988a868f887dc7238e97a49/gettyimages-612082096.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Kanye West Ends New York Concert Early Due to a 'Family Emergency' by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 3, 2016 3:07 AM CUT  Kanye West performs onstage during the Meadows Music & Arts Festival on Oct. 2, 2016, in Queens, New York City Kanye West performs onstage during the Meadows Music & Arts Festival on Oct. 2, 2016, in Queens, New York CityTaylor Hil—Getty Images/The Meadows by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 3, 2016 3:07 AM CUT Kanye West abruptly ended his concert in New York City on Sunday night, citing a “family emergency.” West was performing his song “Heartless” onstage at the Meadows Music & Arts Festival in Queens, where he was the headline act, when he was pulled aside by a handler, according to [reports](http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/music-festivals/7526641/kanye-west-ends-meadows-fest-set-early-family-emergency "undefined") from various media [outlets](http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/02/entertainment/kanye-west-family-emergency/index.html "undefined") and footage of the concert that has since been posted on Twitter. “I’m sorry,” he told the crowd. “I have a family emergency. I have to stop the show.” “You have 30 minutes!” someone in the audience yelled. West left the stage at around 9:40 p.m.; he was slated to perform until 10 p.m. Shortly afterwards, the festival’s organizers tweeted that West had ended his performance because of an “emergency.” > [](https://twitter.com/themeadowsnyc/status/782762656746831872) > [](https://twitter.com/UBtalkin/status/782769197898199040) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4516146/kanye-west-meadows-family-emergency/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4516146/kanye-west-meadows-family-emergency/"},"headline":"Kanye West Ends New York Concert Early Due to a 'Family Emergency'","datePublished":"2016-10-03T03:07:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:57:49.104Z","description":"He was onstage at a festival in Queens when a handler pulled him aside","url":"https://time.com/4516146/kanye-west-meadows-family-emergency/","keywords":["celebrities","Kanye West"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf7be7353b2d0157/6988a868f887dc7238e97a49/gettyimages-612082096.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcf7be7353b2d0157/6988a868f887dc7238e97a49/gettyimages-612082096.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"The Meadows Music & Arts Festival - Day 2","caption":"The Meadows Music & Arts Festival - Day 2","creditText":"Taylor Hil—Getty Images/The Meadows","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4516146/kanye-west-meadows-family-emergency/","name":"Kanye West Ends New York Concert Early Due to a 'Family Emergency'"}}]}] ```