Ari Lennox Was ‘Never Comfortable’ While Opening On Rod Wave’s ‘Nostalgia Tour,’ As She Explained

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On November 29, Rod Wave’s Nostalgia Tour hit Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California, and Ari Lennox performed her opening set. Everything was fine and good until someone in the audience chucked a water bottle at Lennox and hit her arm.

Video of the incident went viral, mainly because Lennox let the person have it, saying, in part, “Who the f*ck did it? I’ll f*ck your ass up. ‘Cause I don’t play that. I’m a real-ass b*tch, and I will f*ck your sh*t all the way the f*ck up. Don’t you ever disrespect a beautiful Black woman on the f*cking stage like that.”

On Sunday, January 7, Lennox went on Instagram Live and explained that her Nostalgia Tour frustrations extended far beyond that moment.

“I was never comfortable,” Lennox said, as captured by Complex. “I just remember, every show, just racing to get off stage — racing to get through my set. And then, I found the spot where I was comfortable, and I started trying to communicate with the audience, and then, when I realized they were getting angry at me affirming them? I was like, OK, this is — you’re getting angry that I’m affirming you? This is not my crowd, and it’ll never be. And that’s alright. That’s alright, you know what I mean?”

Lennox continued, “It was tough. Like, it was tough. And it was heavy on my soul — feeling that energy — especially the day when the bottle happened because that side of the stage? Like, I felt the energy. I wasn’t surprised that it happened. I felt it. First of all, it was just all darkness. That’s literally the energy that was coming from the left side.”

Watch excerpted videos from Lennox’s Instagram Live below.