Bebe Rexha has reassured her fans that she's “good” after a concert-goer threw a phone at her during one of her shows in New York City – which resulted in her having to be taken to hospital for stitches.
Footage from the concert that has circulated on Twitter shows the singer reacting in shock and pain when the phone is flung at her, before crouching on the floor with her head in her hands. She was later escorted off stage to be taken to hospital.
“Absolutely great show ruined by a fan throwing their phone at @BebeRexha… hopefully she is ok after that,” a fan captioned the video.
We're so conditioned to see unwanted stares, catcalling and even assault as normal.
Another wrote: “This is Bebe Rexha being rushed out of the concert venue here in NYC after someone threw a f***ing phone and hit her face as she was leaving the stage. We were all having a hell of a good time and so was Bebe, we were all having a blast, I mean who would even do that??? We hope you’re ok @BebeRexha.”
Bebe has shared a shot of her black eye and steri strips, and referenced her recent David Guetta collab by declaring “I'm good,” with a thumbs-up – but the incident has started a conversation about the safety of artists on stage, as well as the attitudes of concert-goers towards performers.
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The culture of throwing things at artists on stage isn't a new one – but many singers have spoken out about the potential dangers of the fan tradition. Harry Styles was pelted with Skittles at a concert in 2022 – in an act that was probably meant to be harmless but left him struggling to open his eye for the rest of the concert – and rapper Tyler, The Creator asked his fans not to throw things at him back in 2022.
The man accused of injuring Bebe was removed from the concert and charged with assault, according to reports – and shockingly, said in his statement that he “thought it would be funny”.
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It's a pretty sad state of affairs that someone would willingly throw a substantial object at a woman from a distance, and defend his actions with humour. And in a world where violence against women continues to rise, 'joking' about these incidents only furthers the notion that it is not being taken seriously.
Worryingly, there are numerous commenters on Twitter who have also described the assault as “funny”. We should never excuse concerning behaviour because of humour or ‘banter’ – let us not forget Wayne Couzens' disturbing messages that were sent to his colleagues in the years leading up to the murder of Sarah Everard.
One fan commented on Twitter following Bebe's assault: “It is almost like the global pastime of harassing and abusing high profile women for sport and thrills has created a situation where some people feel empowered to do whatever they want to any high profile women they can get near enough to.”
Bebe Rexha is thankfully okay, and the person at fault has been charged – but can we stop making excuses for dangerous behaviour by passing it off as humour?
