SZA hit out at fans during a live show in Australia this week after some crowd members allegedly threw items at the singer.
READ MORE: Cheese wheels, ashes and sex toys: stop throwing shit at pop stars, please
The ‘SOS’ star was playing the first of three headline gigs at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on Monday (April 29) when she addressed the unacceptable behaviour.
“If you throw something else, I will leave,” she said. “Do not throw up any cell phones. I’m a person. That’s crazy. OK.”
Writing on X/Twitter, one fan commented: “[I] heard someone threw a phone and a shoe at SZA in Melbourne. What is wrong with you guys??”
Another person wrote: “SZA healed us all last night. Would happily pay another $250 to see her again, what a show. wtf at ppl throwing phones and shoes to be signed tho, chill. #sostour #sza.”
SZA fans threw shoes and cellphones at her on stage in Melbourne pic.twitter.com/5GeRmrCDsk
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 2, 2024
A third user said: “Oh and whoever was in GA that threw that fucking phone and hit SZA (or almost hit) to get her to sign it, you will begin to cough in 3 days.”
Someone on TikTok claimed that an audience member “threw [a] shoe at SZA’s head”, adding: “She deadass got pissed.” They then quoted the singer as saying: “If you throw one more thing at me ima hit you.”
Solàna @sza healed us all last night. Would happily pay another $250 to see her again, what a show. wtf at ppl throwing phones and shoes to be signed tho, chill. #sostour #sza pic.twitter.com/IrghgeJLlF
— Di (@didiyaq) April 30, 2024
Oh and whoever was in GA that threw that fucking phone and hit SZA (or almost hit) to get her to sign it, you will begin to cough in 3 days
— 𓆩✧𓆪 Sufflee 𓆩✧𓆪 (@luvvyeu) April 29, 2024
SZA is the latest artist to fall victim to an ongoing trend that has seen gig-goers attempt to get performers’ attention by throwing items. Other names to have been affected by this dangerous behaviour include Harry Styles, Lil Nas X, Drake, Cardi B and Pink.
The most concerning case was when Bebe Rehxa was left needing stitches after a crowd member threw a phone at her face during a gig in New York because he thought it would be “funny”.
Later, the likes of Billie Eilish, Adele, Corey Taylor and Taylor Swift urged fans to stop participating in the trend. The latter singer said there should be “gentle, healthy boundaries” between the artist and their audiences.
“It really freaks me out when stuff gets thrown on the stage,” Swift explained. “Because if it’s on the stage then a dancer can trip on it.”
Eilish had previously said: “It’s absolutely infuriating when you’re up there. You’re in a vulnerable position.”
In another instance last year, two of Beyoncé’s backing dancers confronted a fan who threw an object on stage during a concert. Elsewhere, someone threw a bag of their mother’s ashes on stage at one of Pink’s gigs at BST Hyde Park 2023, where she was also handed a giant wheel of brie.
Meanwhile, SZA is set to headline Glastonbury 2024 next month alongside Dua Lipa and Coldplay. It’ll mark her first appearance at the Worthy Farm festival.
She’ll top the bill at this year’s edition of BST Hyde Park in London on the same weekend. Find any remaining tickets here.
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