Harry Styles is the latest victim of stage attacks: Why are fans throwing things at performers?

Harry Styles, Drake, Lil Nas X, Bebe Rexha, Pink, Kelsea Ballerini and Ava Max. What do these artistes have in common? Besides being world-known performers and award-winning singers, they have also recently faced attacks on stage, with fans throwing random objects at them.The dangerous trend, dating back to mid-June, sees the so-called fan targeting the celebrity specifically and not just the stage in general. It started with American singer Bebe Rexha and British pop singer Harry Styles has been its latest victim.The situation has become so severe that Adele during her Las Vegas performance told fans, “F****ng dare you. Dare you to throw something at me.”“Have you noticed how people are, like, forgetting fucking show etiquette in America? They’re just throwing shit onstage,” she was quoted as saying.But why are fans attacking celebrities? Is there a reason behind projectiles being hurled at performers or is it just an occupational hazard they have to deal with?Celebs attacked!On 18 June, Bebe Rexha’s incident was the first this year to sound alarm bells and start this problematic trend. The singer was hit in the face by a fan’s cell phone, leading to her receiving a black eye and stitches over her eye. The fan, later identified as Nicolas Malvagna, told the police he did it because he thought “it would be funny”. Needless to say, Rexha didn’t find it funny at all.Days later, singer Ava Max described on Twitter that an audience member attacked her during her performance in Los Angeles, writing: “He slapped me so hard that he scratched the inside of my eye. He’s never coming to a show again.” It’s unclear how the man got on stage, but Max’ record label refused to issue any comment.The following weekend a fan tossed what appeared to be a bag of his or her mother’s ashes onstage at Pink during her concert in London. The singer looked alarmed and said, “I don't know how to feel about that. I have to say that was a first.”American country singer Kelsea Ballerini also had a brush with a fan during her performance in Idaho. The singer was hit in the face by a flying object, which later was revealed to be a friendship bracelet.[caption id="attachment_12854372" align="alignnone" width="640"] From left: Kelsea Ballerini, Pink and Bebe Rexha. All three singers have been attacked by fans at a concert, with Rexha even having to get stitches for her injury. File image/AP[/caption]On 1 July, Lil Nas X was performing at Lollapalooza Stockholm in Sweden when a sex toy was thrown at him on stage. He narrowly avoided getting hit and laughed off the incident.Rapper Drake also was the victim of a fan attack when during his It’s All A Blur tour, a fan threw their cell phone at the artist in Chicago. He was fortunately not injured and continued on with the show.And the most recent incident is that of the As it Was singer, Harry Styles. Performing in Austria’s Vienna, a fan threw a small object at Styles’ face, leading to him bending over in pain.Incidentally, this isn’t a first for Styles. Previously, fans threw Skittles at his eye late last year.Showing their love… not reallyThe rising number of incidents in which fans have attacked celebrities have prompted many to question the motives behind them. Harvey Mason Jr — the president and CEO of The Recording Academy and a producer-songwriter told The Hollywood Reporter, “This is something that to me is disappointing because generally music is thought to bring people together, and music and singers and artists generally make people feel good and unified and uplifted. So to see somebody that was angry enough to try and harm someone performing and putting their heart and their talent out on display is sad and it’s a little disturbing. I hope that it doesn’t continue to be a trend.”Some have attributed this kind of behaviour to wanting attention and virality. Nowadays, people want to jump on the viral bandwagon and will perform bizarre acts all in an attempt to earn their two seconds of fame. For instance, the man who threw a phone at Bebe Rexha was a trend on TikTok.[caption id="attachment_12854392" align="alignnone" width="640"] Drake was performing in Chicago when someone threw their phone at him, in a very similar incident to what happened to Bebe Rexha. However, Drake was lucky in that it bounced off his arm, not his eye. File image/Reuters[/caption]As Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, told USAToday, “The idea that this is a thing to do, an option has now been released into the culture. It seems that attacking people on stage has perhaps become, alas, a challenge.”Others attribute this behaviour to an after-effect of COVID-19 lockdowns. Media psychiatrist and author Carole Lieberman, MD, told Newsweek that COVID-19 lockdowns have led to people becoming more aggressive and primitive in behaviour.They also believe that these acts are a reflection of broader societal issues such as gender-based violence, harassment, and lack of respect for personal boundaries. There’s also the problem of not seeing celebrities as real human beings. As Ella McCrystal, an abuse survivor and psychotherapist who works with female victims of violence, told Cosmopolitan UK, “Treating artists as objects of entertainment rather than as individuals deserving respect can contribute to a hostile environment.”She further noted that aggression against performers could also be a result of growing toxic masculinity, which leads men to believe that women are only for objectification and dehumanisation.However, not each incident of a celeb being attacked is borne out of malice. Sometimes it could just be the case of a fan wanting to show their love and adoration for their icon. “As a society, we need to work to overcome these attention-grabbing moments and look beyond that. Concerts are supposed to offer a community where people can come together to share in the magic of live music,” Morgan Milardo, the managing director at the Berklee Popular Music Institute at the Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts told NBC News.[caption id="attachment_12854442" align="alignnone" width="640"] Some experts note that large crowds, alcohol make music concerts a dangerous place for performers. File image/Reuters[/caption]Artists speak upWhile Adele has dared fans to throw stuff at her, American pop singer Charlie Puth wrote on Twitter: “The trend... must come to an end,” adding that “it’s disrespectful and very dangerous.”And in the meantime what happens to concerts? Some artists may institute new rules for their concerts, such as no-phones policies or even netting onstage to make sure people don’t hit them. Some could even install a plexiglass.But these would be an unfortunate solution because at the end of the day, the audience wants to connect with the performers and this type of situation would only come in the way.With inputs from agencies