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Conversations about concert etiquette have sparked once again as Billie Eilish becomes the latest artist to be hit on stage by a flying object.
From Lady Gaga to Harry Styles to Taylor Swift, over the past two years, someone in the crowd has thrown objects at several musicians during their performances. Items range from food to electronics, including cabbage, cell phones and roses.
Last night (December 13), a thick necklace nearly hit the “Birds of a Feather” star in the eye inside Glendale, Arizona's Desert Diamond Arena.
In images shared on X/Twitter, Eilish, 22, is seen on stage singing “What Was I Made For?” as the purple beaded accessory catapults towards her.
Eilish flinches before the necklace bounces in front of her legs. Before continuing, Eilish sighed and shot the crowd a disappointed look.
Frustrated fans took to social media to shame concertgoers who think it's a good idea to throw random things at performers.
One woman lamented the days when people respected artists at concerts. “I miss concert etiquette, why is it allowed?” he asked in X.
Another said: “Incidents with crowds are becoming too frequent.”
“People need to relax at concerts,” a third fan wrote, while a fourth agreed: “How embarrassing and disrespectful.”
Meanwhile, one person offered a counterargument. “I personally think that throwing things on stage can be fun and generate great interaction, but it always depends on the artist. If they don't support it (clearly she doesn't), don't do it. But like others like pink who welcome it, do it! “It’s fun when there is consensus.”
“We stop doing that in 2023…” another individual disagreed.
When Harry Styles was on tour in 2022, the “As It Was” vocalist was the target of many thrown objects, one of which was a bowling pin. During a show in Los Angeles, a fan threw a bowling pin that flew right into his eye.
Videos from the concert show the former One Direction band member waving to the crowd before the little candy scratched his left eye. Styles narrowed his eyes as he bowed and walked off stage, unable to open his injured eye.
Afterwards, fans were outraged and argued that the 30-year-old artist could have been seriously injured.
“Whatever it is, only an idiot could throw things at an acting person. In case Harry had an injury that would prevent him from going on another tour, or worse, permanent damage. This is not how you show love for an artist in a civilized society,” one upset woman wrote in a YouTube video about the incident.
During Taylor Swift's Buenos Aires leg of her Eras Tour in 2023, the “Fifteen” singer asked her fans to stop this behavior for her own safety and that of her dancers. “Just because communication means having soft, healthy boundaries, it really scares me when things get thrown on stage, because if they're on stage, a dancer can trip over them,” she said. “I love that you brought gifts and that's really nice, but could you please not throw them on the stage? I love you a lot!”
