An all-black party in Houston featuring Fabolous and Trey Songz was reportedly shut down on Sunday (January 17) after the fire marshal pulled the plug due to overcrowding at the venue.
The event took place at Spire, a popular Houston nightclub that had its alcohol license previously suspended in June 2020 for violating the city’s social distancing guidelines.
“If there was an emergency, a fire or something that would have occurred inside, we would have had a massive loss of life because the means of entry,” Houston Fire Chief Samuel Pena told local affiliate ABC 13. “The exits were blocked.”
Fabolous promoted the event on Instagram Friday (January 15), touting it as a continued birthday celebration for New Orleans-based promoter Larry Morrow. Morrow is facing scrutiny on social media for hosting the massive series of parties in Houston while venues in his hometown are currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many traveled from out of state to visit Houston for the parties and attend a possible superspreader event.
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“S A T U R D A Y. H O U S T O N. S P I R E Houston we gone clean up 2moro night & hit SPIRE to CELEBRATE LIFE for @larry_morrow,” Fab wrote. “My bro’s @treysongz & @kennyburns will be there so get ready for a vibe!!”
According to local reports, an estimated 200 people were waiting outside of the venue to gain entrance before it was shut down around 1:30 a.m. local time. Before the event, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner raised concern about venues being packed to capacity, skirting social distancing guidelines.
“I’m still getting some disturbing pictures of people hanging out in clubs that have been recategorized as restaurants,” Turner said on Saturday (January 16). “And let me tell you, they are not restaurants.”
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Morrow’s event getting shut down early comes after an event held at Clé nightclub gained widespread attention on social media after videos of Bow Wow performing on stage surfaced. For Songz personally, it’s the second event where his attendance has led to a shutdown or a venue was hit with fines over not following social distancing guidelines.
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In December 2020, a Songz performance at the Ohio nightclub Aftermath led to the venue being slapped with numerous violations as the R&B singer took selfies and shared drinks with patrons.
As of January 17, there are around 47,145 active cases of COVID-19 in Houston and Harris County, per city-data.
