Kelsea Ballerini temporarily stopped her performance and exited the stage after an object thrown by a fan hit her in the face during a recent concert.
A fan account, Kelsea Central, tweeted a nearly one-minute video of the moment that an object — some audience members can be heard in the video saying it was a bracelet — flew from the crowd and hit Ballerini as she performed her Subject To Change anthem, “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too).” Ballerini retreated from the microphone and stopped performing, and her violinist stepped over to help her. Ballerini briefly stood with her back to the crowd until she ultimately walked offstage.
“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,” reads the Kelsea Central tweet on Wednesday night (June 28). “But throwing things on stage where artists are already so vulnerable is NOT the move. 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. 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.
“What we know at this point is that she is back on stage and okay,” the fan account continued shortly after sharing the video. “But please know that if you do this, you’re the reason why we can’t have caps on our water bottles.”
Later, Kelsea Central shared another video from Instagram user brittneyy1122, who apparently attended the concert. That one shows the “HEARTFIRST” star telling her fans: “…if you ever don’t feel safe, please let someone around you know. There’s security everywhere tonight. If anyone’s pushing too much, or you just have that feeling or anything, just always flag it. Don’t throw things. You know? I just, I always want shows of mine — every show for every artist, but I’m in control of this one, and — I just want it to be a safe place for everyone. We have little kids here, and just, can you help me do that tonight, please?”
“I also want to point out that Kelsea not only finished the show last night, but re-sang the song she got hit on because she had to step off stage in the middle of it,” Kelsea Central added in a tweet on Thursday morning (June 29). “Just so people could still hear it. Her heart is so big 🖤”
Ballerini is on her “HEARTFIRST Tour,” named after the first single she debuted from her latest full-length album, Subject To Change. The incident apparently happened at her Wednesday night show in Boise, Idaho. Next, Ballerini is headed to Salt Lake City, Utah and Phoenix, Arizona.
Some Twitter users drew similarities to other recent incidents of concertgoers throwing objects on stage during an artist’s performance. They largely referenced one at a Bebe Rexha show earlier this month (though at least one Twitter user expressed doubt that the fan intended to hurt Ballerini). Rexha was injured during a New York City concert when a man reportedly threw a phone at her face, ultimately resulting in stitches above her eye. Rexha later shared photos of the black-and-blue mark and stitches, and said she was “good” after the incident. Shortly after Rexha’s injury, Ava Max tweeted about a shocking moment when a man at her concert jumped on stage and slapped her in the face. P!NK also appeared stunned when a concertgoer reportedly threw their mother’s ashes on stage during P!NK’s performance of “Just Like a Pill.”
It’s unclear as of publication time on Thursday morning whether the concertgoer at Ballerini's show faced consequences for throwing the object. Ballerini wrote in an Instagram caption: “i’m fine, let’s just do a better job of keeping each other safe at shows. ily.” She added in a statement on her Instagram story: “hi. i’m fine. someone threw a bracelet, it hit me in the eye, and it more so just scared me than hurt me. 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. that’s all i ever want, is for shows to feel like a safe place for us all. i love you and appreciate all of the concern, let’s make the last two shows of the heartfirst tour the best yet. 🤍”