



The incident is the latest in an unsettling trend of inappropriate fan behavior at concerts. Music Kelsea Ballerini hit in the face during concert by fan-thrown objectĬountry singer Kelsea Ballerini was struck in the face by an object thrown by a fan while she was performing in Idaho. “The line between the stage and audience, and the sense of decorum around it, has really faded.” “Fans throwing projectiles at artists is as old as rock ’n’ roll, but there’s still no excuse for it,” said Paul Wertheimer, a concert security expert and founder of the consulting firm Crowd Management Strategies. On Saturday, in Vienna, Harry Styles joined their ranks when a fan threw something, hitting him in the eye and causing him to double over and briefly walk offstage. Still, no one seems immune: Pink, Kid Cudi and Steve Lacy have all been on the receiving end of hurled objects at recent shows. Strikingly, many of these artists - Bebe Rexha, Kelsea Ballerini and Ava Max, among them - are female singers, with fan bases that lean more toward impassioned singalongs than aggravated assault. But Drake’s pelting is just the latest in a string of incidents where fans have chucked objects ranging from phones to jewelry to cremated ashes at performers. Who knows if the fan had intended to hurt him, or if they hoped Drake would take a selfie onstage with it (and toss it back?). Drake kept on singing, uninjured if a bit confused why someone would throw a valuable - and dangerous, when airborne - object at him midshow. On Wednesday, the opening night of Drake’s new tour, the superstar rapper was midway through a tender version of Ginuwine’s “So Anxious” when a cellphone flew out of the Chicago arena crowd and smacked him in the wrist.
