Billie Eilish Has ‘Mixed Feelings’ About Fans Throwing Things at Concerts: ‘It Can Be Dangerous’
The discourse around fans throwing objects at artists during concerts feels never-ending. Just when we were done talking about Bebe Rexha getting hit in the face with a cell phone during one of her shows, someone threw their mother’s ashes on stage during one of Pink’s sets. Then Kelsea Ballerini was pelted with a bracelet. Then Drake’s stage was littered with phones, bras, and shoes. Then Harry Styles was hit in the eye (again). And this was all in the last month. The social media framing around these events makes it seem like there’s a new trend emerging, and while there’s some validity to that, Billie Eilish knows that this has been happening to artists, including herself, for years.
“I’ve been getting hit on stage with things for like, literally, six years, I don’t know why this is like new. People just get excited and it can be dangerous,” Eilish told The Hollywood Reporter at the world premiere of Barbie on Sunday. “I have mixed feelings about it, because when you’re up there it blows. But you know it’s out of love and they’re just trying to give you something. You’re in a vulnerable position, but I’ve been getting hit with stuff for like years.”
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Her brother and collaborator Finneas also weighed in, adding: “Don’t do it — we get it but don’t do it.” The only plus he sees in it is that at least they’re being showered with displays of affection rather than irritation. There aren’t any tomatoes hitting the stage, or water bottles full of mysterious liquids (bodily fluids? soda? a combination of the two? no one knows).
This was the case for Ballerini, who was struck with the same kind of bracelet that fans were bringing to the shows to trade with one another, a trend that has also been adopted by Swifties during Taylor Swift’s Eras tour. Although they may have meant well, the singer shared in a statement: “We all have triggers and layers of fears way deeper than what is shown, and that’s why I walked offstage to calm down and make sure myself, band and crew, and the crowd all felt safe to continue.”
But it would be naive to assume that all of these fans have pure intentions. When the cell phone a 27-year-old man threw at Rexha made contact with her face, it caused so much damage she had to receive stitches. And according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, the man stated: “I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny.”
Rather than trying to separate out when a thrown object is a sweet gift or a soaring weapon, maybe everyone should just stop throwing things on stage and watch the concert like normal people. “Don’t throw things on stage,” Eilish added. “But we love you; it’s very sweet.”
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