From cellphones to roses, fans have been throwing objects at artists at concerts and events this year.
Experts hypothesize anything from excitement to wanting fame on social media could be fueling fans' behavior. Though fans have been throwing stuff at artists for decades (see: Ozzy Osbourne and the bat in 1982, David Bowie and the lollipop in 2004), there's no doubt it has become a trend over the past few months.
Below, find an overview of the incidents that have made headlines in 2023.
Florence Pugh
Pugh, 27, was on stage at CCXP 2023, a Comic Con-style event in São Paulo, Brazil, on Dec. 3. for a panel on her upcoming film “Dune: Part Two” when a small object hit her in the face, according to video footage posted on social media.
The "Midsommar" actor, who was posing for pictures with her co-stars when the object hit her near her right eye, flinched and appeared to say "Ow." She then touched her face and bent over over, apparently to see what the object was, the video showed.
Representatives for Pugh and CCXP did not immediately respond to requests for comment from NBC News.
Cardi B
During a performance in Las Vegas in late July, a person in the crowd threw a drink at rapper Cardi B as she sang her hit "Bodak Yellow."
After standing onstage in shock for a moment, she took her microphone in one hand and chucked it into the crowd in retaliation, based on a video posed to social media.
Following the incident, she appeared to be yelling at the person who threw the drink while security dispersed into the audience. Cardi B later retweeted a fan video of the incident set to her track “Jealousy” on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Latto
In July, the rapper was at a festival in Germany when an object was thrown at her on stage as she performed “Put It On Da Floor,” according to Variety.
The moment was caught on camera and shared to an account on Twitter.
“Want your a-- beat? Throw it again,” Latto resplies as she continues her performance. “Throw it again. I’m a beat your a--.”
Harry Styles
The former One Direction singer was performing in Vienna, Austria on July 8 when a fan hit him in the face with an object. It's unclear what the object was in video recording of the incident, but after it struck Styles, he brought his hand to his eye and stopped on a set of steps before he walked offstage, still holding his eye.
Concert attendee Maddison Ford told TODAY.com the object appeared to be a rose, with the stem hitting Styles' eye. Ford said the object was thrown toward the end of his performance, and that he finished the last 25 minutes of his set after it was thrown. Ford said Styles appeared to be "clearly hurt" after the interaction.
Representatives for Styles did not respond to a request for comment from TODAY.com.
Drake
Drake was performing in Chicago on the first night of his "It's All a Blur" tour on July 5 when a fan threw a cellphone at him on stage. According to video of the incident posted on social media, Drake was singing a slowed-down version of Ginuwine's "So Anxious" when the phone came flying through the air from the crowd. It appears Drake almost caught the phone, but it ended up hitting his hand and flying off stage.
Bebe Rexha
A fan also threw a cellphone at Bebe Rexha during a separate incident last month. The singer was performing in New York City on June 18 when she was hit in the face by the phone, causing her to drop to her knees as crew members rushed to help, according to video posted online. She was taken to the hospital for her injuries, and later posted photos and videos of her bruised eye.
A 27-year-old man, Nicolas Malvagna, was arrested and charged with assault in connection to the incident, according to the New York Police Department. He pleaded not guilty and his attorney said in a statement to NBC News it was not Malvagna's intention to injure her.
“As a fan, Mr. Malvagna’s sole intention was to have Ms. Rexha take photos with his phone, and return it as a keepsake," his attorney, Todd Spodek, said in the statement.
A temporary protection order requires Malvagna to stay away from Rexha until his next court date on July 31.
Ava Max
A concert attendee slapped singer Ava Max while she was performing on stage in Los Angeles in June. The man appeared to have gotten on stage and was being restrained by a security guard, but was able to get close enough to smack her across her face, according to video posted online of the incident. Max grabbed her face but continued performing as the security guard dragged the man away.
"He slapped me so hard that he scratched the inside of my eye," the 29-year-old singer said on Twitter on June 21, the day after her performance. "He’s never coming to a show again thank you to the fans for being spectacular tonight in LA though!!"
Kelsea Ballerini
Country music star Kelsea Ballerini was performing in Boise, Idaho, on June 28 when a fan threw an object at her from the crowd, hitting her in the face. She recoiled, stopped singing and left the stage for several minutes after she was struck, according to videos posted on social media.
When she returned on stage, she addressed the crowd: "Don’t throw things, you know? 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?"
Ballerini later confirmed the tossed object was a bracelet in a message to fans on her Instagram on June 29.
"I’m fine," she said. "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," she added.
Ballerini concluded, "That’s all I ever want, is for shows to feel like a safe place for us all. I love you and appreciate all the concern."
Pink
A concertgoer tossed what appeared to be a bag containing the ashes of their mother on stage during Pink's concert in London last month. While the bag didn't strike Pink, the singer picked it up and appeared stunned as she paused singing to address the fan.
"This is your mom?" she asked as she held the bag, according to video posted of the incident.
"I don’t know how I feel about this," she added as she placed the bag on the stage floor and resumed singing.
Amid the trend, other artists are speaking out
Some artists have had enough of concertgoers' shenanigans — including Adele. During a recent "Weekends With Adele" show in Las Vegas, the singer held a T-shirt cannon as she addressed the recent rise of items thrown at artists.
"Have you noticed how people are like forgetting f---ing show etiquette in America, they’re just throwing s--- on stage. Have you seen that?" she asked the audience while pacing the stage with cannon.
"F---ing dare you. Dare you to throw something at me," she said, before firing a t-shirt into the crowd.
Singer Billie Eilish also addressed the hail of objects being thrown on stage in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
"I've been getting hit on stage with things for like, literally, six years, I don’t know why this is like new," Eilish said. "People just get excited and it can be dangerous."
