It seems like lately fans have been throwing things at artists a lot more frequently at their concerts; it’s almost like a trend. First, we have fans throwing their bras at Drake, then we have fans throwing their mother’s ashes at Pink, and the list gets longer and weirder. Why do people feel it’s cool to be this rude to an artist during their concert, why is it trendy to throw things at them now?
According to TODAY, “experts hypothesize that anything from excitement to wanting fame on social media could be fueling fans’ behavior.” People would do just about anything for fame, attention, a thrill, etc. so this conclusion is fairly plausible. Throwing objects at someone, especially if it is a heavier object can be very dangerous; some people even feel that this behavior is amusing, According to the Los Angles Times, a 27-year-old, male fan by the name of Nicolas Malvagna was arraigned on a misdemeanor of “assault and harassment” charges for allegedly throwing his phone at pop superstar Bebe Rexha. His phone was hurled very close to the singer’s eye, and she collapsed on stage, Nicolas reportedly said “I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny,” all according to Los Angeles Times.
It is apparent that fans seem to be throwing things at artists for attention and amusement; Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, a professor of Communications at the University of Arizona, told the HuffPost, “Throwing things at a performer can be considered violence, but another interpretation is that it is an act of desperation. Like, this is their one and only chance to get the attention of the performer.” In addition to getting their 15 seconds of fame/attention, fans may be desperately trying to seek attention from the artist specifically.
Funnily enough, Adele put on quite the show in Las Vegas as she jokingly shouted to her audience, “Have you noticed how people are, like, forgetting f**king show etiquette at the moment? “Throwing s**t on stage, have you seen them? I f**king dare you, I dare you throw something at me, I’ll f**king kill you.” She then proceeded to fire t-shirts from a t-shirt cannon into the crowd, according to the Daily Mail.
Artists have been speaking out about this trend, as Billie Eilish told The Hollywood Reporter: “I’ve been getting hit on stage with things for literally six years. People just get excited, and it can be dangerous. It’s absolutely infuriating when you’re up there. When you’re up there, it blows. You know it’s out of love … [but ] you’re in a vulnerable position,” according to People Magazine.
Folks, please be respectful to the artist you love, and pay money to see. Their jobs are hard enough as they have to get on stage, and put on a great show for millions of people, let’s not make it even more distressing for them by throwing things at them. If you want attention, amusement, or an interaction with your favorite artist there are more positive and respectful ways of doing so.
