Celebs Who Were Attacked On Stage During Performances

Most celebrities are not strangers to uncomfortable invasions of privacy, from public scrutiny over their personal lives to more nefarious acts like stalking. Some have had to contend with stalkers and rabid fans who feel they need to be somehow involved in their business. There are historic cases of stars being attacked and even killed by their fans, so it's fair to say that accepting fame does have its drawbacks.

For long, it seems the one thing most celebrities used to be able to do without interruption was to actually perform on stage. After all, fans pay a lot of money to see someone's show, and though the lucky few in the front rows may have reached out to touch a singer's hand, they wouldn't dare do anything to disrupt the show. However, in the 2020s, that's no longer the case, as there's been a rapid uptick in the number of celebrities who have been hit or injured by fans who came to watch them. 

Often, these incidents involve a fan throwing something at a performer, whether it's their underwear or a cell phone. Rarer examples have seen people bum rush a performer and physically assault them on stage. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it becomes a big news story. All of these celebrities have been attacked during a performance in one way or another, and the acts range in severity from a nuisance to a felonious assault.

Of all the celebrities attacked on stage over the years, Chris Rock's assault is arguably the most well-known. The attack, dubbed "The Slap Heard Round the World," occurred during the 94th Academy Awards presentation. Rock was busy presenting the Best Documentary Feature when he joked about Will Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock's joke involved Pinkett Smith's shaved head; her husband didn't like that.

Smith got up from his seat, walked onto the stage, strolled up to Rock, and slapped him across the face. Rock handled the assault well enough, given the very public nature of it all, while everyone watching live and on television were shocked. Smith followed this up with an apology and an award acceptance, as he took home the Academy Award for best actor that evening. According to Variety, the fallout resulted in his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and his banning from attending future award shows for a decade.

Smith's assault on Rock had wide-reaching ramifications. The slap certainly shook Rock, and the number of people going on stage to assault performers skyrocketed. Many of the celebrities in this article were assaulted in some way following the Academy Award slap, suggesting Smith's actions emboldened others to follow suit. Regardless, Rock handled the aftermath well enough, and while it took him a while to comment publicly, he's done so and appears to have moved on.

Pop singer Bebe Rexha is another singer to become victim a violent social media trend. During a performance at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in Manhattan on June 18, 2023, a fan threw their smartphone toward the stage, hitting the "Me, Myself, & I" singer directly in the eye. Rexha immediately dropped to her knees in pain and was rushed off stage to receive first aid. The following day, she posted a picture on Instagram with the caption, "I'm good." She had bruises around her left eye and medical tape above the eye, covering part of the eyebrow.

Fortunately, Rexha wasn't severely injured, and security was able to zero in on the man, Nicolas Malvagna, responsible. Per New York Post, he was later arrested and charged with assault. Malvagna attempted to explain his actions by telling the arresting officers, "It's a TikTok trend where you throw your phone onto the stage, and a celebrity passes it and takes a selfie. I thought she was looking in my direction." The criminal complaint paints a slightly different story and quotes Malvagna saying, "I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny."

Per ABC7NY, the singer was in the middle of her last song of the evening at when the assault took place. She had just finished saying, "Thank you so much for all of your support! You are the best," only to be pelted with the cell phone.

Latto was in the middle of singing "Put It On Da Floor" at Rolling Loud Germany in Munich in July 2023 when a fan decided to chuck something on stage, according to a report from TMZ. Fortunately, the object didn't hit her, but it did grab her attention, and she wasn't pleased. She didn't exactly stop singing, but Latto did ad-lib a bit, adding, "Want your a** beat? Throw it again," which she followed with a somewhat melodic "Throw it again, I'mma beat your a**."

It's unclear what the fan threw onto the stage during Latto's performance, but her reaction suggests it didn't matter. The singer had no tolerance for stunts like that, and her response quickly went viral. Latto's reaction came soon after Adele warned fans about throwing something on stage during one of her performances. 

During a performance at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Adele jokingly said to the crowd, "Throwing s*** on stage, have you seen them? I f***ing dare you. I dare you to throw something at me. I'll f***ing kill you" (via TMZ).  Adele followed this by firing a T-shirt cannon at the crowd, letting everyone know she had the means to retaliate. Still, Adele's point was clear, and like Latto, she has no tolerance for the trend that has seen a plethora of objects interrupt and injure performers.

Dave Chappelle's comedy has entertained and angered people for years, and on May 3, 2022, it caught up with him. While performing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, a man got onto the stage and attacked the comedian. The assailant ran into Chappelle, knocking him back as he fell.

Security intervened before he could rise, and Chappelle wasn't injured. According to NBC, the man, Isaiah Lee, was carrying a non-firing replica handgun with a knife blade, though it's unclear if he attempted to use it. Lee was arrested and charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon, per CBS News. Lee later told the New York Post that he identifies as bisexual and wanted Chappelle to know his comedy was triggering for him.

"I wanted him to know that next [sic] running his material by people it could affect," he said to the outlet. Lee further explained that he grew angry over Chappelle's jokes regarding homelessness and the LGBTQ community. The DA reduced the felony and charged Lee with four misdemeanor counts: battery, possessing a deadly weapon with intent to assault, unauthorized access to the stage during a performance, and delaying the event or interfering with the performer (via New York Post).

Ava Max was singing in Los Angeles on June 20, 2023, when a man jumped on the stage and slapped her face. A fan-shot video of the assault depicts what appears to be the man trying to touch the singer just before security grabs him, so its possible he may not have intended to slap her as hard as he did. Still, that's not how Max remembers it. The following morning, the singer tweeted, "He slapped me so hard that he scratched the inside of my eye. He's never coming to a show again."

Max didn't miss a beat despite being slapped in the face mid-performance. She continued dancing in time with her music and finished singing "The Motto" before leaving the stage. Max thankfully did not follow-up to say she sustained any serious injuries, however, her manager, Scooter Braun, posted a photo of her on Instagram showing her holding a cold beer bottle to her eye.

Per People, one concertgoer who witnessed the incident claimed the fan who slapped Max was thrown down the stairs. Unlike other incidents of people attacking performing celebrities, the man who hit Max wasn't arrested, and his name hasn't been made public. According to reporting by TMZ, the man didn't intend to hurt Max and only wanted to "hold her," which isn't different, as unwanted touching is assault regardless of intent.

On July 5, 2023, Drake was busy singing in Chicago when his performance was interrupted by a thrown cell phone. Per Billboard, the singer-rapper was going strong with his cover of Ginuwine's "So Anxious" when the phone hit his left arm and flew behind him. He glanced at it as it made its way to the floor but went about as if nothing happened.

Drake wasn't injured by the phone and didn't mention the incident during his performance, which came at the beginning of his "It's All a Blur Tour." Security didn't apprehend the assailant, though it's unlikely they got their phone back. Fans on TikTok quickly joked about Drake's unphased response to having a phone thrown at him. The phone wasn't the only thing thrown at Drake during his performance in Chicago that night.

One fan threw a bra at the singer, and while that's not unheard of, its measurements had Drake take notice, saying, "Oh yeah, that's definitely how I like it right here, God damn, s***. ... 38DD never let me down before." Another bra hit Drake while performing in New York in July 2023. When the 36G bra hit him, he said, "Locate this woman immediately!" Not only has the woman been found to be Veronica Corr, but she was offered a job with Playboy after the story went viral (via the New York Post).

Harry Styles was performing during his "Love on Tour" residency in Los Angeles on November 15, 2022, when a fan threw a small object at him. Per Entertainment Weekly, the incident happened at the end of the show when Styles was making his way down the stage to take his final bows before the encore. The object, which has since been identified as a Skittle, flew directly into Styles' eye, injuring him. Despite this, he performed "Kiwi," squinting throughout.

Styles was visibly in pain from the incident and couldn't open his eye much at all. His bandmate Pauli the PSM later confirmed on a live video that the object was indeed a Skittle candy, and mentioned that Styles' eye wasn't injured, adding, "Don't throw no more Skittles on stage." After the incident, Skittles posted to its Twitter account: "Didn't think I needed to say this: Please don't throw Skittles."

Unfortunately, some fans didn't get the memo because, according to CNN, on July 8, 2023, Styles was performing in Vienna, Austria, when history repeated itself, and someone threw a small object into Styles' eye. Styles flinched in pain and put his head in his hands after the incident. He managed to continue walking by and maintain his composure. It's unclear what hit him the second time, but whatever it was, it should never have been thrown at the singer.

Kelsea Ballerini was singing "If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)" in Boise, Idaho, on July 5, 2023, when a thrown bracelet hit her in the eye. This promoted the country singer to stop performing and speak with her fiddle player behind her. Per a video of the event on TikTok, she then left the stage for a short time and returned to address the crowd about what just happened to her.

"Can we just talk about what happened? All I care about is keeping everyone safe. If you ever don't feel safe, please let someone around you know. ... If anyone's pushing too much or you just have that gut feeling, just always flag it," she said. Ballerini ended her impromptu speech with, "Don't throw things. You know?" Per People, the following morning, the singer posted to her Instagram about the incident and why she felt she needed to leave the stage.

"Hi. I'm fine. Someone threw a bracelet, it hit me in the eye, and it more so just scared me than hurt me," she wrote on stories. The singer then explained that the incident triggered her, adding that she needed to calm herself down and ensure everyone felt safe before she could continue. Ballerini survived a school shooting when she was 15 in Knoxville, Tennessee, and explained in her book, "Feel Your Way Through," that she has PTSD (via People). 

Although the trend of artists having phones thrown on them seems like it was borne out of TikTok, some singers, like Ariana Grande, have unfortunately dealt with the issue for much longer. Following a concert to celebrate the debut of her single, "Focus," back in October 2015, the singer participated in a Q&A session where a fan threw their phone at her. Grande and the interviewer noticed it immediately and reacted much like you'd expect when a large, hard object is hurled at someone. Grande asked, "Did someone throw a phone at me?"

Per US Weekly, Grande continued, "That's so dangerous. What if your screen cracked." Finding the one responsible wasn't difficult, but security didn't rush in to arrest them. Instead, Grande picked up the phone and addressed the person: "Whose is this? Is this yours? Be careful. Take your phone back." Unfortunately, this wasn't the last time someone threw an object at Grande.

On April 21, 2019, Grande was performing at Coachella when someone chucked a lemon at her. The lemon hit the singer in the chest, forcing her to stop and say, "That's 'cause one of y'all threw a lemon at me. S***." Grande left and soon came back to finish her performance. The person responsible wasn't found, and speculation online suggested it might have been a fan of Beyonce, though the claims are unfounded.

Jim Jeffries is no stranger to offending people — that's kind of his thing — but there's a big difference between not liking a joke and beating the crap out of someone. While performing at Manchester's Comedy Store on April 21, 2007, Jeffries delivered a jab at a female heckler in the audience. Many people laughed at the quip, but one man didn't, and he hurled insults at the comic, ranting and raving as he punched the walls (per Manchester Evening News).

Just as things seemed to be calming down, the man rushed the stage and attacked Jeffries. The assailant repeatedly punched the comedian before security grabbed him and dragged him out of the club. Jeffries wasn't badly hurt, but he was shaken. Although he did get back on stage, he cut his act short. He later returned in June to perform his one-hour show, "The Second Coming."

Interestingly, the assault likely boosted the comedian's career, as it brought a great deal of attention his way. He acquired the Comedy Store's footage of the attack and incorporated it into subsequent acts, including his special and first DVD, "Contraband." Jeffries' time in Manchester has been difficult, as he mentioned following the attack: "I've always had bad luck with this city. I've been robbed and beaten. Manchester people are great, but it's like a Wild West sort of town."

XXXTentacion was performing during his "Revenge Tour" in San Diego, California, in June 2017 when all hell broke loose. A man charged the singer and landed a leaping punch, sending the rapper to the ground. The assailant continued trying to beat XXXTentacion but was pulled off him by security. But that didn't end things. Soon, more attendees got involved, leading to a brawl, and another person kicking XXXTentacion in the head.

Eventually, security was able to break things up and send many of the attackers running. XXXTentacion, however, had to be carried off the stage by two bouncers. According to The Sun, the performer later took to Twitter to cast blame for the assault, writing, "Security and venue set me up, I got sucker punched and knocked out, it is what it is. Next time, make sure you kill me."

As many as six people got involved in the brawl on stage before security drove them off, though nobody was arrested following the attack. It's believed that the assault resulted from a feud between XXXTentacion and Rob Stone, a local performer whose fans may have acted in his name. XXXTentacion also feuded with Drake, insisting he ripped off his music. XXXTentacion was murdered one year after this incident, though his killing was unrelated to the 2017 attack.

Noel Gallagher of Oasis was performing at the V Festival in Toronto, Canada, on September 7, 2008, when an incredibly intoxicated fan attacked him. The suspect, an adult man named Daniel Sullivan, reportedly climbed onto the stage and shoved Gallagher onto some equipment. He then attempted to run away toward the crowd before security grabbed him and took him backstage. Unlike most celebrities hurt by a flying object or overzealous fan, Gallagher was severely injured from the assault. Even though he completed the gig, he sustained three broken ribs from the assault. 

Sullivan was later arrested and charged with the assault. During his trial, a statement written by Gallagher was read on his behalf. In it, he wrote, "I would describe the sudden impact and shock as feeling as if I had been hit by a bus. ... I ended up in a heap on the floor" (via The Guardian). Gallagher spent some time in the hospital following the incident and cancelled several shows while he recovered. 

Additionally, Oasis' record sales fell because Gallagher couldn't promote their latest album, "Dig Out Your Soul." Gallagher also said he would never fully recover from the attack and was in pain for eight months as his body healed. According to The Guardian, Sullivan avoided jail time by pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm. Instead of prison, Sullivan was sentenced to 12 months of house arrest for attacking Gallagher.

If you've ever been to a concert, you've likely seen a singer come to the edge of the stage to touch the hands of some lucky fans. That's normal, and it happens all the time. Unfortunately for Beyoncé, things didn't go according to plan during a concert in Sao Paulo, Brazil. On September 15, 2013, the singer leaned toward her fans at the edge of the stage when one grabbed her by the waist, trying to pull her into the crowd.

Beyoncé handled the overeager fan professionally and continued singing without interruption for a moment. She then tried to calm things down by insisting, "It's all right. It's all right. Calm! Calm! Calm," before wrapping up her song. The fans (those who didn't try to drag her off the stage) chanted her name, and she said, "Let me meet the gentleman. He just got excited. It's alright."

 He told her he loved her, and she reciprocated before telling all of her fans the same thing. Initially, security tried to move the man out of the area, but Beyoncé's words stopped that. Beyoncé shook the fan's hand and asked his name, completely diffusing the situation. He was able to remain in his spot and watch the rest of the show, which went off without any further problems.

Typically, it's a fan who starts an attack by crossing the line with a performer, but that's now how things went down with Kurt Cobain in 1991. While performing in Dallas, Texas, on October 19, 1991, during the Deep Ellum concert, things took a turn. Cobain jumped into the crowd for a bit of crowd surfing, but on his way back to the stage, he accidentally hit bouncer Turner Van Blarcum in the head with his guitar.

Van Blarcum immediately retaliated by punching Cobain in the head and kicking him. This led to Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic stepping in to break up the fight, which temporarily stopped all the music. The crowd went wild in response, so someone threw "Nevermind" into the CD player to try and pacify everyone. This only caused the fans to boo louder. Fortunately, Cobain was able to continue, and after a short time, the band returned and finished the show.

After the show, as the band got into a cab to leave, Van Blarcum ran up to the car and smashed some of the windows. One witness, Sean Bailey, later recounted the incident to Dallas News, saying, "He punched the window out and tried to grab Kurt. But once the window broke, the cabby drove off." Years later, in an interview with Death Metal Underground, Van Blaricum gave his side of the story, explaining he managed to bite Cobain's nose when he broke the cab's windows.

Most on-stage musicians have seen almost everything, whether it's someone's underwear, a piece of candy, or a cell phone. One thing thrown at a performer you don't often hear about managed to find its way onto the stage during a performance by Adam Lambert in Sweden in early July 2023.

The Queen frontman told Metro.co.uk that a woman in the audience threw a "giant dildo" at him in the middle of his show. "That was strange," he told the outlet. "Luckily that wasn't aimed at my head; it was aimed at my shins, and it sort of bounced off of my leg and landed on the floor and flopped once or twice." At first, Lambert was taken aback by what bounced off his leg, but he kept singing and handled the dildo by kicking it in the direction it came from, adding, "I think it might have hit the woman who threw it at me."

Lambert was fortunately unharmed by the airborne sex toy and joked that he might need to wear a helmet for future performances. Still, he added, "In all seriousness, it's kind of scary. I definitely feel for Bebe and Kelsea and Pink; I don't know what's going on," referring to similar incidents involving those performers that happened around the same time.

Pitbull performed on April 30, 2009, in Aspen, Colorado, and one of his fans made it rain ... a lot. The man threw money at Pitbull throughout his performance. As the cash rained down onto the stage, Pitbull scooted it toward the crowd. He addressed the man directly, saying, "Look, dog, you already got three strikes. Don't make it rain no more. I'm telling you. I ain't gonna talk about it no more. I'm just gonna be about it. Don't do it no more."

About a minute later, the man moved to the other side of the stage and threw more cash. After this, Pit extended his hand and pulled the man onto the stage. The hitmaker later told MTV he intended to make an example out of the man by putting him in front of the crowd so they could see the reason why the show was being interrupted. But it didn't work.

"When I bring this muthaf**** up on the stage, he throws a wad of money in my face. When he did that, that's when natural reaction ... natural instinct kicked in." Pit punched the guy, knocking him down, and he was escorted out of the building, leaving Pit to apologize to his fans. He explained to MTV that he's had bottles thrown at him, so he's wary of anything moving onstage, whether it's money or something more dangerous.

Even fans with the best possible intentions can cause problems, as Kelly Clarkson discovered during a performance. During a 2023 appearance on "The Howard Stern Show"
the pop singer described one frightening encounter with a fan that was too close for comfort.

Clarkson told the radio host that during a televised concert, one fan decided to run on the stage while she was singing with her eyes closed. Even though the encounter didn't appear to be malicious, it left the singer shook. "[..] This person on live TV [...] rushed the stage and came up and hugged me and put their arms around me. But when your eyes are closed, and you're singing, you aren't thinking anything," she told Howard Stern. A hug may not sound like a bad thing, but Clarkson wasn't expecting anyone to rush up and grab her, and it rattled her. She added, "It was very scary. Just because you think, at that moment, I realized how vulnerable I was, and I'd never thought like that before."

Clarkson also told The Hollywood Reporter, "I don't know to this day how security [didn't catch this person]. They were a sweet fan who wanted to hug me and just chose poorly how to do it." Clarkson's experience was compounded by fears arising from other on-stage incidents. In 2017, following the mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 60 people dead, Clarkson considered ending live performances. Fortunately, Clarkson didn't discontinue live performances and likely won't, despite the hugging incident.

If there's a universal truth for comedians, it's that hecklers are a fact of life. When you're telling jokes to a crowd, someone will take offense or call out for any number of reasons. On March 23, 2022, Sampson McCormick performed before a heckler, but things didn't end with words. McCormick was performing at the Win-River Resort & Casino in Redding, California — a venue he'd played at for more than seven years.

A woman heckled him throughout his performance, and he called her out as he's wont to do. McCormick explained to The Advocate, "I started teasing her about the obvious, which was that she only had about three-and-a-half teeth in her mouth." After asking her, "How many teeth do you have," a man approached the stage, yelling, "What did you say about my sister?" The man rushed the comic and punched him, leading to a fight.

McCormick defended himself as best he could, fighting back as the man told him, "I'm going to beat your black a**." McCormack was left standing after things settled down, and the assailant was escorted out of the club, leaving him to finish his set. McCormick added, "It sounds corny, but I like to bring love to my audience. But don't mistake my being gay as weak because I grew up in southeast D.C., and I will kick some a**."

Cardi B was in the midst of performing her hit "Bodak Yellow" when someone decided it would be a good idea to hurl the contents of their drink at her. The assault occurred on July 30, 2023, while the rapper performed in Las Vegas at Drai's Beachclub. The person flung the contents of their drink at the singer, dousing Cardi B in liquid. As you can imagine, the Grammy-winner was shocked, but only for a moment.

Without hesitation, Cardi B threw her microphone down at the crowd and began angrily yelling at those in front row. Per a viral video clip, it's clear security didn't hesitate and jumped down from the stage to deescalate the situation. Reports confirmed that security personnel retrieved the microphone and escorted the person responsible for throwing the drink from the venue while Cardi B left the stage. Unfortunately, the situation didn't end there, as the so-called fan cried foul due to rapper's retaliation. 

Per USA Today, the concert-goer filed a police report for battery, though at the time of writing, no arrests or citations have been issued by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. While plenty of videos online show Cardi B getting hit by the liquid and retaliating, nobody paid attention to the attacker, so it's unclear where or how hard they were hit with the microphone (if at all).

Salman Rushdie isn't the type of celebrity many associate with performing, but he does live readings of his work, so he's not unfamiliar with the stage. Rushdie has been the target of death threats since his book "The Satanic Verses" hit store shelves in 1988, and the anger over his work never lessened. He found this out the hard way while lecturing at the Chautauqua Institution in New York on August 12, 2022.

Rushdie was about to start his lecture when a man rushed the stage and stabbed him in the neck and abdomen. The attacker, Hadi Matar, was arrested for the attempted murder, though the motive for the attack wasn't initially clear. Rushdie's wounds were severe but recoverable, according to Dr. Martin Haskell, who rushed in to help (per Associated Press). One of the two police officers assigned to the lecture arrested Matar, and security was increased at the hospital. As a result of the attack, Rushdie lost sight in one eye and could no longer use one of his hands.

Rushdie survived the attack, though it wasn't his first brush with death. Back in the late '80s, Rushdie survived a separate assassination attempt following the publication of "The Satanic Verses," and has seen his name added to various hit lists. According to The Guardian, an Iranian religious foundation raised the bounty for his head from $2.8 million to $3.3 million in 2012. 

One of the earliest modern examples of a performer attacked on stage dates back to 1956, and it has everything to do with bigotry and hatred. In April 1956, a white mob planned to attack legendary jazz vocalist Nat King Cole while he sang in Birmingham, Alabama. This was during a time when African American performers weren't appreciated south of the Mason-Dixon line, and Cole was in danger.

During a performance of the song "Little Girl," several club-wielding men approached the stage and attacked the singer. The following day, six men were charged with a myriad of crimes, including assault with intent to kill, though four of the assailants later received a reduced charge of conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor. More than 100 men planned to attack Cole and overpower the band to kill the legendary performer, but the vast majority of the mob didn't show.

Those who did show up rushed the stage and assaulted Cole. Police ran to Cole's rescue, but he wasn't left unscathed. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that four assailants were members of the Ku Klux Klan. According to reporting from The Guardian's archive, one of the attackers was on the White Citizen's Council's board of directors. This pro-segregation group believed rock and roll music was an immoral scheme by the NAACP, hoping to integrate the South. Fortunately, Cole wasn't severely injured, but he returned to Chicago, Illinois, after the attack to rest and recuperate.