Fans Throwing Things On Stage

Submission 756

About

Fans Throwing Things On Stage refers to the act of concert or eventgoers throwing things at performing artists while they are on stage. The trend, which is largely frowned upon by artists, purportedly saw an increase in popularity throughout June and July 2023, with artists including P!nk, Bebe Rexha, GloRilla, Lil Nas X and Harry Styles all reportedly having things thrown at them while performing on-stage. It has been theorized that social media, clout and the desire to go viral have played a part in the rise of the trend.

Origin

Instances of fans throwing things on-stage during concerts or events and receiving negative backlash have been reported for decades. One of the earliest reports online was posted to MTV.com^[1] on December 8th, 1997, reporting that the band Oasis walked off stage during a performance after a plastic bottle was thrown on stage, hitting the guitarist, Paul Arthurs, in the head. On June 7th, 2004, a post was made to the u2interference^[2] forum about fans throwing things at U2 frontman Bono. On April 15th, 2007, YouTuber^[3] The Gunner Channel posted a video of Axl Rose stopping a show mid-song to tell fans to stop throwing things at the stage or they'll go home, garnering over 988,000 views in 16 years (shown below).

Spread

In June 2023, reports of things being thrown on stage and often injuring the performers became increasingly prominent. On June 18th, 2023, Twitter^[4] user @captiv_8_ posted a video of Bebe Rexha getting hit in the face by a cell phone at a concert, garnering over 4,500 likes in a month (shown below). Rolling Stone^[5] reported on the incident the next day. USA Today^[6] reported that the man was charged with assault. Rexha reportedly needed stitches after the incident

Absolutely great show ruined by a fan throwing their phone at @BebeRexha hopefully she is ok after that pic.twitter.com/4eBScgurv5

— Alex Chavez (@captiv_8_) June 19, 2023

On June 25th, Twitter^[7] user @jomas__ posted a video of someone throwing their mother's ashes at P!nk during a concert, which was retweeted by Twitter^[8] user @AsAndrewSpeaks on June 26th, garnering over 2,000 likes in a month (shown below). That day, Complex^[9] reported on a video of someone, allegedly JT from City Girls, throwing her phone at Lil Uzi Vert.

On June 27th, TikToker^[10] @hiphopdx posted a video of GloRilla kicking a fan out of a concert for throwing things on stage, garnering over 500,000 views in two weeks. On June 28th, The Independent YouTube^[11] page posted a viral video of P!nk having a wheel of cheese thrown at her on-stage, which she receives warmly, garnering over 16,000 views in two weeks (shown below). On July 4th, a video of someone throwing a flesh light on stage during a Lil Nas X concert was reposted to the same YouTube^[12] channel (shown below, right).

On July 8th, Instagram^[13] user harryloustan1 posted a video of Harry Styles getting hit in the eye with something thrown on stage, which was reposted by Twitter^[14] user @PopCrave, garnering over 31,000 likes in four days (shown below).On July 9th, 10 News^[15] published a report titled, "Why do fans keep throwing things at artists during concerts?" In the article they quote professor of forensic studies at Florida Gulf Coast University David Thomas, who suggests social media and the desire for "30 seconds of fame" is responsible for an increase in the trend.

Harry Styles gets hit in the eye by an object thrown at him during his concert in Vienna. pic.twitter.com/mD9kzFoQvG

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 9, 2023