Country singer Kelsea Ballerini gave an update to fans the day after she was pelted in the face by an object tossed from the crowd during a concert, saying she was startled by the incident but otherwise OK.
"I'm fine," she wrote on her Instagram story on June 29. "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 continued.
"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. Let's make the last 2 shows of the heartfirst tour the best yet," she said.
The 29-year-old was in the middle of a song at the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise, Idaho, Wednesday when the object hit her, causing her to recoil and stop singing, videos showed. She eventually left the stage for several minutes.
The "Legends" singer later returned to address the crowd and resume the show, according to multiple clips posted on TikTok.
"All I care about is keeping everyone safe," she told the crowd once back onstage, according to one TikTok clip. "So 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 gut feeling or anything, just always flag it.
"Don't throw things, you know?" she said. "I always want shows of mine ... 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?"
A member of the stage crew also addressed the crowd after Ballerini was hit, saying the tossed object was a friendship bracelet, according to a clip posted to TikTok.
"It was a friendship bracelet, which we love. It's awesome," he said. "Got to stop, right? Got to keep everyone safe."
The person who pelted the singer has not been identified.
The flying bracelet was the latest incident in a troubling trend of concertgoers assaulting or interrupting performers mid-show.
On June 18, a fan hurled a cell phone at pop singer Bebe Rexha, giving her a black eye and a nasty cut above her eyelid. A couple of days later, a fan slapped singer Ava Max as she was singing and dancing onstage.
Last weekend, a fan tossed what appeared to be a bag of their mother's cremains onstage during a Pink concert in London, NBC News reported.
