Shame and embarrassment are at an all-time low, and unhinged behavior at concerts is at an all-time high. Over the past few weeks, Bebe Rexha had to receive stitches on her face from someone throwing a phone at her face during a concert in New York, and Ava Max was scratched in the eye when a fan rushed the stage and slapped her during a performance in Los Angeles. And over in London, at the British Summer Time Festival, someone apparently threw their mother’s ashes onto the stage during Pink’s headlining performance.
“Is this your mom?” Pink asked mid-song, pinching the Ziploc bag by its corner to move it to the edge of the stage. “I don’t know how I feel about this.” The singer’s confusion didn’t fade as she finished performing “Just Like a Pill,” still processing how to respond or move forward. It’s also unclear what the concertgoer expected her to do with their mother’s cremated remains. What was the plan there?
https://twitter.com/asandrewspeaks/status/1673236911622684673?s=21
The recent uptick in bizarre interactions between fans and artists feels indicative of a post-pandemic shift in the live music sector. Last year, someone set off fireworks inside an arena where Dua Lipa was performing, and Skittles issued a statement supporting Harry Styles after the singer was pelted in the eye with candy at one of his concerts.
But fans crossing the boundaries of their parasocial relationships with these musicians is nothing new. Back in 2019, Charli XCX issued a lengthy statement after photos went viral of one fan who brought his mother’s ashes to a meet and greet to have her pose with them and another who asked her to sign a douche.
“I do not think my fans have been abusive towards me at meet and greets: please stop saying they have been,” she wrote. “I haven’t commented on the most recent, possibly controversial goings on at meet and greets because these moments are not the ones I take away from spending time with my fans. I take away the fact that people wait outside in the cold for me, tell me that a certain song changed their life or that a particular album got them through a tough time.”
She added: “These things are the things I dwell on after meet and greets. I don’t think about the pictures or the objects that I sign. And please note, I don’t feel obliged to do anything. Sometimes I decline certain things and sometimes I don’t think twice about things.”
But everyone should always think twice before subjecting anyone to any discomfort or harm, physical or otherwise.
From Rolling Stone US
