CN Tower lit up in Pride colours the moment Anthony Bass took the mound in Toronto
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Anthony Bass was treated to a chorus of boos Wednesday evening upon taking the mound for the first time since sharing an anti-LGBTQ message on Instagram and later apologizing in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it statement.
It was the exclamation point on what has been a rapid fall from grace for the embattled reliever, one where the raucous heckling from a crowd of 41,000 was capped off by an accompanying light show stretching 553 metres above the Rogers Centre's open roof.
At the exact moment that Bass arrived on the pitcher's mound to a packed house of seemingly enraged fans, the CN Tower gave off a perfectly-timed rainbow light show that sure looked like a calculated rebuke of Bass' controversial views.
The CN tower made the colours pride when bass comes out in relief for the jays #bluejays #nextlevel pic.twitter.com/59pGtAGe4b
— happyleafsfan (@sebasti13730725) June 1, 2023
Several fans connected the dots between the pitcher's appearance and the light display high above. Backing up these theories, it appears this was not an officially scheduled event on the CN Tower's well-documented programming schedule.
Anthony Bass, pitching under a rainbow CN Tower comes out to a chorus of boos pic.twitter.com/HDNn6zdmsl
— Michie⁷ (@garciamichie) June 1, 2023
The CN Tower's official lighting schedule stated that the tower would be illuminated in pink and blue on the night of May 31 to acknowledge Preeclampsia Awareness Month.
The Pride Month lighting schedule was only supposed to take effect today, on June 1. During this programming, a rainbow light show is planned for the bottom of every hour throughout the month.
Even if the calendar schedule somehow got messed up, Bass came out in relief at around 9:39 p.m., nowhere close to the "bottom of the hour" rainbow shows planned for Pride Month.
#CNTower in full disagreement with Anthony bASS tonight.#HappyPride pic.twitter.com/sDmVmffCkb
— CJ ⚾️⚕💉 (@CjHajer) May 31, 2023
Many fans reacted with delight to the glowing message in the sky, though this is certainly among the more polarizing topics in internet discourse, and just as many seem displeased by the sentiment from the country's tallest freestanding structure.
You know it’s bad when you’re being trolled by a tower.
— Pearl Prynne (@JewelPrynne) June 1, 2023
The CN Tower's management has stayed tight-lipped about their not-so-subtle statement, if, in fact, it was even a statement at all.
Pride isn't political, it's about human rights.
— Mike (@MrMike1979) June 1, 2023
blogTO reached out to the CN Tower's media department via email early Thursday morning, seeking comment on whether or not the timing of the light show was an intentional message. Despite multiple follow-ups through additional channels, there has been no response as of writing.
CN Tower/Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
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