This new dangerous trend of audiences throwing objects at singers, especially females while they are performing continues as it gets the latest victim in the form of renowned country singer Kelsea Ballerini who was hit with an unidentified object on Wednesday, 28th June 2023 during her performance for ‘If You Go Down' at Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise. Although the object is not confirmed, many fans on social media believed it to be a bracelet. The object struck Ballerini in the face which hit her in the eye, resulting in her being injured. This incident highlights the vicious behavior of some fans, leading to a disruption in the performance and resulting in a temporary pause to ensure Ballerini's safety.
After returning to the stage after getting checked over, Kelsea said: “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. Don’t throw things. You know?”
"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 her Instagram Story. "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, the band and crew, and the crowd all felt safe to continue. That's all I ever want, is for shows to feel like a safe place for us all." the singer said in her Instagram story. She also followed it with her Instagram post writing, "ps- i'm fine, let's just do a better job of keeping each other safe at shows. ily.)" accompanied with photos of the shows.
The unfortunate incident resulted in the 29-year-old musician’s official fan page releasing a statement, which read: “Guys. I know we all mean well. We all want to show Kelsea love the best way we know how, and shower her with all the gifts.
“But throwing things on stage where artists are already so vulnerable is NOT the move.”
They urged: “If you can’t hand it to her, there are so many other options. Lord, give it to us! We will make sure it gets to her.
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“But PLEASE don’t put her in danger like this. Again, I know you all mean well, but this is becoming a safety issue. We love you guys. We do. But please make it stop.”
These kinds of incidents also happened with Bebe Rexha and Ava Max as the former was hit with a phone and the latter physically slapped by a fan on stage while she was performing in Los Angeles. The fan has been blacklisted from future events and the fan who threw a phone on Bebe Rexha has been charged with assault, hence showing that protective measures to ensure every artist is safe are important.
Kelsea Ballerini debuted on the music scene in 2015 with the album The First Time under Black River Entertainment. She has five No. 1 singles on the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts starting with her debut single "Love Me Like You Mean It", which made her the first female artist to send a debut single to the top of that chart since Carrie Underwood in 2006. The singer released her fifth album Subject to Change last year.