Singer Chanel Haynes says she was fired after performing with the Rolling Stones in the musical Tina Turner in London’s West End
- Haynes performed in the musical Tina in London’s West End
- She received a last minute invite to perform with the Rolling Stones in Milan on June 21st
- She eventually joined the band at San Siro Stadium, singing Gimme Shelter alongside Mick Jagger
- Haynes received an email from Tina’s manager saying she was suspended from production
- Haynes said her suspension was related to singing for the Rolling Stones the same night Tina ran for office
- She said that in the West End “there’s no one who can stop a show”.
Singer Chanel Haynes says she was fired from the Tina Turner musical Tina in London’s West End after an impromptu performance with the Rolling Stones in Milan, Italy.
The New Orleans-born entertainer told outlet Rolling Stone that her involvement with the musical has ended and she has been kept away from the last three shows after accepting the legendary band’s last-minute invitation to perform the classic Gimme Shelter in the San Siro Stadium in Milan on June 21, a night the musical ran.
The outlet noted that Haynes’ chance to go on stage with the band was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” — alongside a good chance of ceding the stage to her understudy — even if it would ultimately cost her her ‘job’ from Tina musically.
The Latest: Singer Chanel Haynes says she was fired from the Tina Turner musical Tina in London’s West End after an impromptu performance with the Rolling Stones in Milan, Italy
The Grammy-nominated performer filled in for Gimme Shelter regular singer Sasha Allen, who was unable to perform on the show, and the band was familiar with her work and asked her to perform.
“I can’t say exactly when I got the call because I don’t want to give a timeline,” Haynes said, adding that “the band gave very little notice” when asking to perform.
She said: “Everybody was biting their nails – ‘How are we going to do this?’ But I’m telling you, the machine the Stones have is like Buckingham Palace or the White House. They have the same staffing level. Next thing I knew I was on a plane bound for Milan.
Haynes said she and the Stones frontman delivered a rousing rendition of the 1969 classic after rehearsing together just once.
The New Orleans-born entertainer said her involvement with the musical has ended and she has been kept away from the final three shows after accepting the legendary band’s last-minute invitation to perform at San Siro Stadium on June 21 in Milan to sing the classic Gimme Shelter
Haynes was spotted alongside Mick Jagger at the concert earlier this month
“We stand in the face and say, ‘One shot away!’ in a small room,” said Haynes. “He had that little grin on his face the whole time. When we were done, makeup, catering and everyone else started clapping like, “This is going to work!”
Haynes told the outlet that after the performance with the Rolling Stones, she received an email from Mark Rubinstein, the general manager of the Tina musical, telling her that she had been suspended from the production and “didn’t go to the theater or some other place of work” until further notice.
Haynes announced her split from the show in a June 23 post, along with the note from Rubinstein, writing that she was “speechless” at the decision and disappointed that she wasn’t able to take the stage to enter in front of a number of travelers to see their last shows as gymnasts.
Haynes said she and the Stones frontman delivered a rousing rendition of the 1969 classic after rehearsing together just once
Haynes shared an email she received from the musical’s management after her outing with the Rolling Stones
“Not everyone will rejoice with you when your dreams come true… If they didn’t create it for you, they will try to destroy it. But stay STRONG and always follow your heart.”
Haynes told the outlet that her suspension was tied to singing for the Rolling Stones the same night the Tina musical aired.
“I’ll say when you’re in the West End there’s nobody who can stop a show,” she told the outlet. “It’s not designed that way. In the end everything was fine. There was a show and a show happened, just like the show in Milan. All the shows happened and I was happy about that.’
A representative for the Tina musical told the outlet that, as per company policy, they would not comment on the matter.