Malaysian singer Yuna got blacklisted in Canada for a few years after making an honest mistake while locating a pizzeria. Photo: Yuna/Instagram
Malaysian singer Yuna recently revealed that she once got blacklisted from Canada for a few years – all because of a late-night pizza run gone wrong.
The 37-year-old described this incident, which took place 14 years ago, as a “really funny” one in a recent episode of model Deborah Henry’s podcast.
As the story goes, Yuna and her friends felt hungry after a show in Detroit, Michigan, the United States, and were craving for pizza.
“We were using BlackBerry phones to navigate and saw this one pizzeria that was still open. It was 1am and (the food) is halal too, so we went,” she said.
As they were driving, they saw a sign that read, “You are now leaving the United States”.
Confused but still focused on satisfying their pizza cravings, they continued driving.
It was only when they drove into a tunnel did they finally realise that they were crossing the border to Canada.
“We were screaming in the van,” she said. “We had our passports but not a visa.”
When they got stopped at the border, the authorities were baffled.
Recounting the ordeal, Yuna said: “They were like, ‘Hang on, so you guys didn’t see this huge sign that said ‘Welcome to Canada?’, and we were like, ‘No, we were so focused on finding this pizza place.’”
The singer, who is married to director Adam Sinclair, ended up getting blacklisted in Canada for a few years after that.
During the blacklist period, she would have to undergo “extra screening” if she were to hold a show there.
When asked if she had gotten her pizza in the end, Yuna responded: “No! But the whole thing was really funny.”
