Musicians On Fans Throwing Things On Stage

After Nirvana saw the mistreatment, they teased the crowd with the intro to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" but never played it at their opening act during a concert in Buenos Aires in 1992. Kurt Cobain documented his memory of this experience in the 2004 book.The opening act received this treatment during a concert in Buenos Aires in 1992. The band responded by teasing the crowd with their most popular song, but they never played it. Kurt Cobain wrote about this experience in the 2004 book.Nirvana: The Chosen Rejects:

We brought this all-girl band from Portland called Calamity Jane to Buenos Aires. During their set, the huge audience of like 60,000 people threw money, mud, and rocks at them. The girls eventually stormed off crying. This was terrible; it was one of the worst mass displays of sexism I ever witnessed.

Krist [Novoselic, the bassist] tried to stop me from setting myself on fire or refusing to play because of my attitude toward such things. We had fun, laughing at the audience. Before each song, I played the intro to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and then stopped. They did not realize we were protesting what they did. We played for about forty minutes, and most songs were off-key.IncesticideThey did not recognize anything because they did not recognize the sounds. We played the secret noise song, "Endless, Nameless," which appears at the end of the set.NevermindBecause we were so angry and furious about the whole situation, that song and entire set became one of the greatest experiences I ever had.

During Ava Max's performance at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles in 2023, a concertgoer slapped her. After the slap, the "Sweet But Psycho" vocalist posted on Twitter (now X) to tell fans...She would not accept that behavior at future shows:at future shows:

He slapped me so hard he scratched the inside of my eye. He will not come to a show again... I thank the fans for being spectacular tonight in LA though!!

After agreeing to replace Kanye West at the 2022 Rolling Loud Festival,A crowd threw water bottles at Kid Cudi on stage.When one bottle hit him in the face, he warned:

Yo, I will walk off this stage if you all throw one more thing up here… I will leave right now… Throw one more thing on this stage and I’ll walk off... I’m not playing, you will ruin it for everybody. I’ll leave if I get hit with one more thing, if I see one more thing on this stage, I’m leaving. Do not mess with me.

Another bottle hit him almost right away, and he kept his promise and walked off. Soon after,festival organizers released a statementto the press:

Rolling Loud is a family. Our fans, the artists, and everyone involved must look out for each other. Share the love and be respectful to everyone. We love you, Cudi. Please take care of each other and let’s have an amazing day 2!

Charlie Puth does not approve of fans throwing things on stage, as he shared on social media:of fans throwing things on stage, as he shared on social media:

Stop throwing things at performers on stage. This behavior shows disrespect and danger. Just enjoy the music.

Bebe Rexha shared a post.

A fan hit Bebe Rexha in the face.A fan threw a cellphone at Bebe Rexha during her 2023 performance at Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York. She fell to her knees, and crews rushed to help the "I'm Good" vocalist off stage. Rexha later responded:

Playing songs live is unique—especially these songs. Feeling the energy from the fans creates a special connection. Six years later, I feel that connection matters a lot for me and my fans.

The show ended badly, but it was an amazing show in my hometown. Thank you, New York. I love you. The Tour must continue!!!

Sporting a black eye and a split eyebrow needing stitches, Rexha shared a photo with this caption:

Still making a black eye look sexy LOLOL

Concertgoer Nicolas Malvanga admitted to throwing the phone and faced several criminal charges.Nicolas Malvanga threw the phone and was arrested for several crimes.

Taylor Swift asked the crowd kindly not to throw things on stage 🫶#BuenosAiresTSTheErasTour

Communication means having gentle, healthy boundaries. Stuff thrown on stage freaks me out. If it's on stage, a dancer can trip on it.pic.twitter.com/ZIY5Vxzajw

Taylor Swift understands the feeling behind fans throwing gifts, but she told them not to do it during a performance.Taylor Swift understands the feeling behind fans throwing gifts but told them not to throw them during her performance.Erastour:

Communication means having gentle, healthy boundaries. Stuff thrown on stage freaks me out. A dancer can trip on it. I love that you brought presents, that is nice, but please do not throw them on stage. I love you so much.

During a 2004 performance in Oslo, Norway, a fan threw a lollipop at David Bowie.The lollipop got stuck in his eye.The "Under Pressure" vocalist was unhappy about the attack. He tried to find the person who did it but failed.He could not find his attacker among the crowd.Yeah, let’s do that again all-f**king-right… Where are you, f**king creep?... I guess it’s easier to get lost in the crowd, you bastard… Remember I only have one. Luckily, that one works. The other one looks more decorative now… good job hitting the bad one. Keep your affection to yourself.

Yeah, let’s do that again all-f**king-right… Where are you, f**king creep?... I guess it’s easier to get lost in the crowd, you bastard… Remember I only have one. Luckily, that one works. The other one looks more decorative now… good job hitting the bad one. Keep your affection to yourself.

To "punish" his audience, Bowie played longer than planned. He ended the show by throwing his guitar pick into the crowd. He joked about hitting anyone in the eye before saying:

David Bowie said, "Oh, maybe I have to hide in the band."

Rock fans might know that former Black Sabbath frontmanOzzy Osbourne once bitOzzy Osbourne had a head off a bat during a live performance. However, he shared more than the shocked eyes suggested during an interview with David Letterman.

I get weird people at my concerts. It's rock 'n' roll. Somebody threw a bat onstage, and I thought it was a toy. I picked it up, bit off its head, and suddenly everyone freaked out. The rabies shots I got after weren't fun.

For the rest of the tour, every night I found a doctor for more rabies shots. One in each cheek, one in each thigh, one in each arm. Every one hurt like a bastard.

Osbourne first said the bat twitched in his mouth. Later, people confirmed the animal was dead long before fan Mark Neal brought its carcass to the concert.Carmen Martin-Kelly, a friend of Neal's, revealedOzzy Osbourne appears on the list of musicians who have fans throwing things on stage.

We told everyone before the concert we were bringing a bat. We would get it in and throw it onstage. We brought friends who sat together in Section 22. So, when Mark moved toward the stage, I told him to wait. I needed time to get up there and tell everyone Mark was getting ready to throw the bat up.

Neal added Ozzy Osbourne to the story.

We got right in front of Rudy Sarzo, the bass player. I tossed the bat onstage, and it landed in front of him. He looked at it a couple of times and motioned Ozzy over. Ozzy came over, picked it up, and the rest is history.

After seeing a friend die in a school shooting,Kelsea Ballerini understands the importance of something.of making sure everyone, including herself, feels safe during events with large crowds:

I work in crowds often. I play loud music. There is pyro and similar noises. People near me know about this. They help me prepare for moments like that. If I have a trigger, if I need to push a show ten minutes, I push the show ten minutes. Everyone understands this. They protect that trauma and that memory for me.

After a bracelet hit her during a performance, the vocalist for “If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)” took a break to collect herself before returning to remind her audience:

Can we talk about what happened? I only care about keeping everyone safe. If you ever don’t feel safe, tell someone near you. If someone pushes too much or you have that gut feeling, always flag it. Don't throw things. You know?

Later, Ballerini comforted her fans on social media.

Hi. I'm fine. Someone threw a bracelet that hit my eye. It scared me more than it hurt. We all have triggers and fears deeper than what is shown. That is why I walked offstage to calm down and make sure myself, the band, the crew, and the crowd all felt safe to continue.

During an interview withToday, she further commented:

I’m lucky I didn’t get hurt. It scared me for a second. That takes you out of the moment. My job, my band, my crew make sure we create a safe space. But fans must show up too; it is mutual.

Live music and shows offer escapism. They provide connection; everyone is together, nothing obstructs that. We need a shared responsibility to figure out how to stop obstruction.

Ballerini echoedher feelings in another interview before closing with:

Be mindful at shows. That is important. If you throw something, throw diamonds.

Billie Eilish admits getting hit onstage is annoying. She feels it is not new. She does it coming from a place of love.coming from a place of love:

I’ve been hit onstage with things for six years. I don’t know why this feels new. People get excited, and it becomes dangerous.

Being up there is infuriating. I have mixed feelings. It blows up when you are up there. But people do it out of love; they just want to give you something.

You are vulnerable. I have been hit with stuff for years. Don't throw things onstage. We love you; it is sweet.

Slipknot'sCorey Taylor blamed social mediafor the dangerous and annoying trend, admonishing:

This is ridiculous. Social media causes this problem. Artists are not seen as people anymore. They were flesh and bone. People obsessed over them, but at least they were a person.

Being further removed from human experience means you might as well be a soda machine or a phone booth. You are an object; people treat you as one.

People fail to grasp how dangerous that is. They fail to see how rude it is to treat people that way. They fail to see how incredible it is to think the show is only about you, not anyone else. The entitlement people show is disgusting.

Everyone wants to state how wrong it is, but nobody wants to explain why. People stop seeing anyone as human. They stop looking at the artist. They stop looking at each other that way. Until we bring the human element back, there will be no limits. That is the destruction of boundaries.

People now see they can be ignored. They get a reaction. They get something to tweet about. It is one huge black hole. It looks like a massive idiot sucking the whole universe in. It is stupid.

champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) shared a post.

Many artists find fans throwing objects on stage irritating at best and infuriating at worst.Drake has told fans to throw things.Drake shared pictures of his bra collection on social media. The "God's Plan" vocalist paused his performance to show his disappointment to the Montreal crowd.

Before the next song, I want to say this is the first stage without a bra. I am deeply disappointed. But do not start throwing shoes, phones, and crap. If you have a bra, tell me I still have one because I feel like I might be having a bad show. I did not see any bras tonight.

The rapper changed his tune for his Los Angeles show. His 5-year-old son attended. He told the audience to stay fully clothed.

Keep your bras on. We must keep this real PG tonight. Throw them up another night.