Kelsea Ballerini was hit in the face after a fan threw an object onstage at her show in Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday. The 28-year-old Ballerini was performing her song “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” when she was struck; video shared on Twitter appears to show her stop singing while her violinist checked her face.
Ballerini attempted to proceed with the song, and briefly is seen in the video footage exiting the stage. After the incident, Ballerini returned to the stage and addressed the crowd, as seen in a TikTok shared by a fan account: “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? I always want shows of mine—every show for every artist, but I’m control of this one—I just want it to be a safe place for everyone. We have little kids and just…can you help me do that tonight?”
Ballerini took to her Instagram story on Thursday to elaborate on what happened: “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.”
Ballerini is just one of several female artists who have had incidents onstage in recent weeks. Pink was stunned after a fan threw their mother’s ashes at her during her show at the British Summer Time Festival in London, while pop star Bebe Rexha was injured after a concertgoer threw a phone on stage, striking her in the face mid-show.
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