EDMONTON—Jack White says he’s “really disappointed” after two women were barred from kissing at his Edmonton show at Rogers Place.

“It’s 2018 now and two people expressing affection shouldn’t have to hide,” he wrote in an Instagram post.

Allyson MacIvor spent last Friday night watching one of her favourite musicians play his first-ever show. But what was supposed to be a fun night ended in tears.

Now, the Edmonton native is hoping to turn a negative situation into a positive one.

MacIvor, a musician herself, was attending a Jack White concert on Nov. 2 with one of her girlfriends. During the encore, MacIvor’s favourite song, “Seven Nation Army,” began playing. In the heat of the moment, she leaned in to kiss her friend.

“I decided to be bold,” MacIvor said, adding it was a fun moment on a beautiful night.

What happened afterwards left MacIvor dumbfounded. The kiss was interrupted by an employee at Rogers Place, whom MacIvor said pulled her away from her seat, shook her finger in disapproval and said, “That’s not allowed here.” The employee then said MacIvor and her friend could speak to a manager if they disagreed.

“I felt violated, I felt intruded upon,” MacIvor said. “I ask people ‘What if that happened to you?’”

MacIvor and her friend decided to enjoy the rest of the song. But feeling uncomfortable over what just happened, the two decided accompany the employee and speak to the manager on duty that night.

At the manager’s office, MacIvor said the employee, whom she described as a young woman, explained that “inappropriate sexual behaviour” was the reason behind her decision to confront the two friends. The manager asked the employee to resume her duties before apologizing to MacIvor and her friend. MacIvor then filed an incident report.

“As a person part of the LGBTQ community, PDA (public displays of affection) is already difficult,” MacIvor said, adding the incident left her feeling shocked and hurt. Tears filled her eyes as she filed the incident report, she recalled.

She then wrote a post about the incident on Facebook. This wasn’t MacIvor’s first instinct, who has refrained from posting about personal matters on social media in the past, she said.

“Eventually, the entire world began to know I was gay,” she said. But MacIvor felt it was important to spark a conversation about the incident.

In an email, Tim Shipton, spokesperson for the Oilers Entertainment Group that owns Rogers Place, said the arena is conducting “a thorough review of the situation.”

“This incident does not align with our values and we take a zero tolerance approach to any form of discrimination,” Shipton said. “We unequivocally welcome and support all members of the LGBTQ community.”

Shipton declined to comment on whether the employee was reprimanded as the review is ongoing, “but rest assured we are taking this seriously,” he said.

MacIvor, however, is hoping to put a positive spin on the hurtful incident. When Rogers Place called her to apologize, she told them, “Whatever you do, please do not fire this worker.”

As part of their apology, Rogers Place asked MacIvor to provide input on their inclusion training for employees, Shipton said. They also presented her with tickets to a concert of her choosing. The choice was easy for MacIvor.

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“I’ve always wanted to see Fleetwood Mac, always, but there’s one condition,’ she said, which was to extend the invite to the employee as well. The manager accepted.

“After that moment, there was a sense of peace,” MacIvor said. Now, she awaits a response from the employee ahead of Saturday’s Fleetwood Mac concert.

MacIvor added she hopes the public response to this incident will be that of love and understanding.

“I’m sure she’s a great person,” MacIvor said of the employee. “People make mistakes, and we have to accept people who don’t accept us.”

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