Toronto’s mayor had to learn the hard way that Kanye West isn’t Canadian.
John Tory spoke to reporters Wednesday shortly after it was confirmed the 38-year-old American rapper will perform at the Pan Am Games closing ceremonies.
When asked if he was a fan of West's music, the mayor replied that he’s not.
“I won’t say that I spend every single night at home listening to his music,” he said.
“And I’m smart enough to know that he’s a proud product of our music industry here, as are a number of others.”
West is a Grammy-winning artist born in Atlanta. Tory was later corrected by staff about his blunder.
He explained he wasn’t briefed by staff about West’s citizenship, telling a CityNews reporter, “I wish he was Canadian.”
“You can’t know everything,” he joked.
Confirmation of West as a closing-ceremony headliner spurred some Torontonians to launch an online petition urging organizers to add more local talent to the lineup.
One hundred people have signed the petition titled “Don’t have Kanye West perform the closing ceremony for the Toronto Pan American Games” as of Wednesday afternoon.
Watch footage of Tory’s blooper here:
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