While being a popstar may seem like a cushy job, it takes courage to perform in front on a stage in front of people. Especially when those people get violent.
Just this month, two high-profile singers have come under vicious attach during an on-stage performance, leaving their fans in uproar.
This past week, Ava Max was brutally slapped by a stranger while she was performing for fans in Los Angeles – with the singer later revealing that her attacker hit her so hard that he ‘scratched the inside of her eye’.
Shockingly, her assault marks the second time this month alone that a singer has come under physical attack from a member of an audience.
Days before Ava’s on-stage slap, her fellow musician Bebe Rexha was smashed in the face by a cell phone thrown by a man in the crowd at a New York City concert, an incident that left her forced to get three stitches – and suffering from a black eye.
‘I’m good’: Bebe Rexha gave her 10.7million fans an update after a man threw a phone and hit the singer in the face during a concert in New York City on Sunday
Ouch! Ava Max has revealed that she was slapped in the face by a fan while performing in Los Angeles – leaving her with a scratch on the inside of her eye
Angry: Ava later took to Twitter to reveal she’s suffered an eye injury due to the slap, with the footage showing the stage invader being bundle off-stage by security
The attacker, 27-year-old New Jersey native Nicolas Malvagna, was later arrested and charged with assault – although he insisted that his intent ‘was to have Ms. Rexha take photos with his phone, and return it as a keepsake,’ his lawyer Todd A. Spodek told Dailymail.com.
Bebe, a Grammy-nominated artist, had been performing and was making her way to the front of the stage when she was smacked in the face by the device.
She posted a video of her injuries to social media, showing that she was forced to have stitches in her eyebrow as a result.
The singer captioned it ‘I’m okay you guys’, before singing: ‘I’m good, yeah I’m feeling alright.’
Unfortunately, Ava and Bebe are far from the first celebrities to be attacked while on stage.
Harry Styles has had a bizarre array of objects thrown at odd places from skittles thrown at his eye to a water bottle thrown at his crotch.
Meanwhile, artists like Taylor Swift and Beyonce were grabbed at while on stage and others like Justin Bieber and Dave Chappelle were full-on attacked on stage.
Here are some of the most harrowing attacks celebrities have endured on stage.
Harry Styles has had food pelted at him, a water bottle thrown at his crotch and been groped while on stage
Harry has been attacked by plenty of food and beverages over the years and has even had his crotch grabbed while on stage
Hope you’re ok Harry: The singer, 28, clutched his eye in a video taken of the moment by a fan after they were launched towards him during a performance of his song, Kiwi
Harry has endured an unfortunate amount of attacks during both One Direction and solo concerts.
In November 2022, he was pelted with Skittles while performing his song Kiwi at The Forum in Los Angeles.
At least one of the Skittles appeared to hit the singer’s eye as he’s seen clutching his eye in pain shortly after.
For the rest of the performance, he appeared to be squinting.
This isn’t the first food-related incident the Watermelon Sugar singer struggled with on stage.
Harry had his crotch grabbed by a concertgoer during a performance in 2017
A month prior, he had chicken nuggets thrown at them. Thankfully, their soft texture made for a much more harmless projectile.
In 2017, fans took to throwing kiwis on the stage for his song Kiwi. While none ever hit him, the singer admitted to slipped and falling on the mush they left on the stage.
Back when he was still with One Direction in 2015, a can of Red Bull was thrown at his head.
The can made impact with the side of his face and shortly after the incident, the musician was seen reeling and putting his head in his hands.
A couple of weeks later, he was hit with another beverage but in a much more sensitive spot.
During a silly moment when Harry sprayed his bandmates with water, an audience member wanted to get revenge on their behalf.
The crowd member threw a water bottle between Harry’s leg which hit his crotch. The singer doubled over in pain upon impact.
Painful revenge: During a silly moment when Harry sprayed his bandmates with water, an audience member wanted to get revenge on their behalf. The crowd member threw a water bottle between Harry’s leg which hit his crotch. The singer doubled over in pain upon impact
Ouch! The pink flowers pelted him in the face as he skipped down some stairs and turned to the crowd to greet them as he did his lap of honor
In another instance in 2017, Harry was groped by a fan in the audience.
As he kneeled above the crowd, the fan grabbed his crotch.
Most recently, Harry had a bouquet of flowers thrown at him from the audience.
The flowers visibly hit him in the face. He reacted by rubbing his face but the singer finished up the performance like a true performer.
Thankfully it was much lighter than some of the previous items chucked at him.
Speaking of his unmentionables, one fan got up close and personal when they grabbed Harry’s crotch during CBS Radio’s We Can Survive 2017 benefit at the Hollywood Bowl.
Taylor Swift had her leg grabbed during one concert and a couple of other close calls
Taylor was caught off guard when an audience member grabbed her leg as she was performing
Taylor was ambushed on stage at the O2 Arena in London. Usually, her security is on top of stopping audience members from getting on stage but this man was too quick for them. The fan climbed to the top of the stairs where she was standing and handed her a note
A violent encounter: a concert-goer who seemingly had a much more violent intent made his way onto the stage. Thankfully, security got to him before he got to Taylor. An all-out brawl ensued as the concertgoer threw punches at security while Taylor continued singing
Taylor Swift may arguably the biggest singer of the moment but even she isn’t invincible to on-stage attacks.
During her 1989 tour in 2015, one male fan dove up and grabbed her leg as she was performing Bad Blood.
The singer couldn’t get past her shock in that moment and just stood there staring at him in silence for a moment.
Eventually, she resumed singing as the man was escorted out by security.
Taylor had a couple of other close calls during other performances.
In 2014, Taylor was ambushed on stage at the O2 Arena in London. Usually, her security is on top of stopping audience members from getting on stage but this man was too quick for them.
Thankfully, he didn’t have any intent to hurt her. Instead, he climbed to the top of the stairs where she was standing and handed her a note.
At that point, security finally managed to reach him and escorted him offstage.
A year later in 2015, a concert-goer who seemingly had a much more violent intent made his way onto the stage.
Thankfully, security got to him before he got to Taylor. An all-out brawl ensued as the concertgoer threw punches at security while Taylor continued singing.
TMZ claims that 26-year-old Christian Ewing had snuck into the concert and was later charged with ‘felony and misdemeanor battery, and obstruction.’
Though Taylor had not a hair out of place from the unplanned event, one security guard suffered a broken rib before they were able to drag him off the stage.
Justin Bieber was attacked at his piano and stormed off after a water bottle was thrown at him
Bieber out! Justin stormed off the stage after an audience member threw a water bottle at him and hit him in the head
After a man came on the stage to attack Justin, security came on stage and he flipped the piano to escape
Justin Bieber has been a polarizing figure in the past so it’s not too surprising that he has been the victim of an on-stage attack.
The singer was performing at a piano during a 2013 concert in Dubai. Suddenly, a man snuck onto the stage.
The man shockingly grabbed Bieber from behind, completely catching him off guard.
Thankfully, the Baby singer was able to break free from the man’s grasp.
Eventually, security ran onto the stage to grab the man, who pushed the piano off of its hinges destroying it.
Bieber had quite a bit of bad luck on that tour. When he was in Brazil later that year, he endured another attack that left him fuming.
As he was singing his song Boyfriend, someone in the audience hurled a water bottle at him.
The bottle hit his hand, nearly knocking his microphone onto the stage.
After a moment of shock, Justin stormed off the stage without saying a word.
Fans waited patiently in their seats for a half hour for him to return before the lights came on and they were ushered out of the building.
Beyonce has been pulled off stage and also watched as a man charged Jay-Z
Beyonce and Jay-Z are unfortunately not untouchable as they two have endured on-stage attacks
Carried away: Beyonce went to interact with her fans but instead was pulled off stage
Another wild attack occurred on stage in Brazil. This time, Beyonce was the victim.
The Crazy in Love singer was shockingly pulled off stage by a concertgoer in 2013.
Beyonce stepped onto a platform that allowed her to lean into the audience and engage with fans as she sang.
That’s when the crazed fan reached up and managed to grab her with both of his arms as he pulled her down into the audience.
Security was quick on the scene and managed to rescue her from the man’s grasp before she got down too far into the audience.
After she was returned to the stage, she continued singing and dancing as if nothing had happened.
Here comes trouble: A man stormed the stage and pushed Jay-Z during his concert with his wife Beyonce
Five years later, Beyonce had another audience member encounter but this time, she was also with her husband Jay-Z.
‘At the time, there was no evidence Maxwell had made contact with Jay-Z,’ said Atlanta Police spokesman Jarius Daugherty.
But later, police determined Maxwell did indeed ‘make contact’ with the rapper.
‘It appears that Mr. Maxwell pushed Jay-Z,’ Daugherty said.
Police charged Maxwell with simple battery.
Police also said Maxwell was treated for minor injuries when ‘people around Jay-Z stopped him from further contact with the performer.’
A concertgoer jumped on Lana Del Ray as she was leaving the stage
Lana Del Ray had a scary interaction with a fan in Antwerp
Lana Del Ray almost managed to get through a performance in Antwerp damage-free but she was attacked as she left stage.
A fan recorded footage of a man attempting to jump on the singer at her concert.
The man leapt up in the air and landed on her as she was walking by.
Thankfully, security swept in quickly and were able to usher her to safety.
Users took to Twitter to express their concern for the singer.
‘@LanaDelRey i’m so sorry for what happened in the pit last night �� are you alright? did the fan harm you?’ one fan asked.
Another explained, ‘I was in Antwerp, and I saw them, WTF? They are no respect to her but don t be worry, the security make a good job and put her in safe immediately.’
Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage with a weapon after making an anti-trans joke in his Netflix special
The incident took place during Chappelle’s set on the last day of a four-night stint at the Hollywood Bowl that was part of the ‘Netflix Is a Joke’ comedy festival
Dave Chappelle was last night attacked on stage while filming a Netflix special in Los Angeles
Chappelle became a controversial figure after joking about the LGTBQ+ community in his Netflix special What’s in a Name, which directly resulted in his stage attack.
During his standup set at the Hollywood Bowl in 2022, Isaiah Lee, 24, charged towards Chappelle with a replica handgun containing a large blade that folded out of it similar to a pocket knife.
The comedian was able to sidestep Lee, and was unharmed. Security forcefully subdued Lee who was later arrested by the LAPD and taken to hospital with a broken arm.
Lee was charged with two misdemeanor counts – one for battery and one for entering a restricted area during a live event and sentenced to 270 days in jail after pleading no contest.
The next day Chapelle released a statement in which the event was described as ‘unsettling and unfortunate.’
‘As unfortunate and unsettling as the incident was, Chappelle went on with the show,’ the statement read.
‘Jamie Foxx and Chris Rock helped calm the crowd with humor before Chappelle introduced the last and featured musical guests for the evening.’
Lee gave an interview from inside jail where he said he had been ‘triggered’ by Chappelle’s jokes about transgender and homeless people.
Lee told The New York Post that he was not amused by Chappelle’s repartee.
‘I identify as bisexual and I wanted him to know what he said was triggering,’ Lee said.
Miley Cyrus was grabbed by a fan who hopped up on stage behind her
Miley was shocked when she felt a fan on stage grab her shoulder from behind
Miley was performing The Climb when a fan made their own climb onto the stage and approached her. The singer was heard saying ‘Oh my god, oh my god’ as the body guard pushed the fan off the staged before whisking Miley away
Back in her heyday, Miley Cyrus had her own scary on-stage experience when a concertgoer hopped on stage and grabbed her.
In 2011, Miley was performing The Climb when a fan made their own climb onto the stage and approached her.
When the fan grabbed Miley’s shoulder, the popstar, who was 18 years old at the time, was visibly disturbed.
Miley was heard saying ‘Oh my god, oh my god’ as the body guard pushed the fan off the staged before whisking Miley away.
Unfortunately, this isn’t Cyrus’ only unwanted encounter.
In 2014, one fan snuck into her dressing room. Miley wasn’t in there at the time but the fan left a note saying they wanted to meet her. The fan was eventually arrested.
Years later, in 2019, Cyrus was groped by a fan in Barcelona. A man started feeling her hair and then grabbed her and attempted to forcibly kiss her.
Adam Levine of Maroon 5 was ambushed on stage twice
Adam had two very different reactions to each instance when he was approached by fans on stage while he was performing
‘You need to calm down’: Adam patiently handled a fan who came up on stage to hug him
Adam Levine has experienced a couple of stage ambushes during his time with Maroon 5.
In 2015, the lead singer recalled a moment during one of his recent concerts when a fan hopped up on stage and approached him.
‘She ran full speed at me, and I was, you know, singing,’ he recalled, in a very serious tone.
‘I was not aware of her. She was on me, the next thing I knew.
‘I kind of had to, like, I guess, deal with it ’cause there was no one around,’ the singer explained.
Shock: Adam Levine was less than impressed when a fan hopped on stage and tried to hug him during Maroon 5’s concert
‘So I looked at her, and I kind of held her shoulders. I’m like, “You need to calm down – please calm down, relax,” he continued.
‘And I put my arm around her. And then by that time, someone had managed to make their way up there [and] gingerly… remove her from the stage.’
Five years later, he had another fan ambush him on stage. However, he was much less patient this time around.
During the song Sunday Morning, a fan hopped up on stage and put her hands on him.
Levine clearly wasn’t pleased as he mouthed the word ‘f**k’ in frustration before walking to the other end of the stage, with the star skipping a few lines before continuing the song.
Ally Brooke from Fifth Harmony was attacked twice in a matter of days
Ally Brooke was attacked twice in Mexico: once on stage and once at the airport
Down for the count: Ally was tackled to the ground by a fan who was seemingly trying to hug her
Before Fifth Harmony disbanded, Ally Brooke was the victim of a couple of terrifying on-stage attacks.
In 2016, the band brought their show to Mexico.
During one performance, a man got past security and hopped up on stage. In attempt to hug Ally, he pulled her down to the ground.
Eventually, security arrived, tackled the man to the ground and escorted him off the stage.
Ally was able to quickly recover. Moments later, she hopped up to her feet to continue performing.
Just two days before the concert, Ally was ambushed by a fan at the airport.
An over-enthusiastic fan grabbed her as she was walking by. She later took to social media to ensure fans she was fine.
She wrote, ”Just to let you know, I am okay after the airport incident. Please be careful and gentle so nobody gets hurt. That was scary. Thank you!’
