The disturbing trend of fans throwing various objects at artists as they perform has continued, and the latest victim is Oli Sykes of Bring Me the Horizon. After being struck in the head with a cell phone while performing on May 11, Sykes took to social media to share an update.
“Alright, everyone — just wanted to let you know I’m all good,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories, per Consequence. “The phone to the head definitely smarted, and I ended up with a mild concussion, but the swelling’s gone down a decent amount already.”
Despite “struggling” after the hit, Sykes finished the show, only cutting one song. He even apologized to fans for a perceived lack of energy. “Last night I was struggling a bit on stage afterwards because signing was putting a lot of pressure on the wound and making things feel a bit disorienting while performing, so I’m sorry on my part for what may of [sic] seemed like a half-hearted performance,” he wrote.
So, if you hit someone in the head in real life, that’s assault. But if you hit an artist at a concert, he apologizes to you for his concussion that you gave him. Right, makes sense. Sykes concluded with appreciation for everyone “checking in and worrying about me.” Additionally, he added, “Everything should be fine for tonight’s gig.”
Bring Me the Horizon’s Oli Sykes Isn’t the First Victim of Projectiles Just This Month
During a performance on May 7, Eric Clapton, of all people, was hit with a projectile thrown from the audience. While closing out a performance in Madrid, a vinyl record in its sleeve struck him in the chest. Clapton skipped the planned encore, but kept his next scheduled performance on May 10.
The incident at the Bring Me the Horizon show is just the latest in a concerning pattern of bad concert etiquette. Back in 2023, Adele addressed this trend at a show during her Las Vegas residency. “Have you noticed how people are, like, forgetting f**king show etiquette in America?” she asked the crowd. “They’re just throwing s**t onstage.”
But there’s a distinction between “throwing s**t onstage” and hitting an artist in the head so hard they get a concussion. Several artists have been hit with phones, actually, which you’d think would be way too expensive to be throwing onstage. In 2023, pop star Bebe Rexha suffered a cut and a swollen eye after a phone hit her. This past March, country singer Riley Green finished his show in Australia while bleeding from a head wound.
From Flowers During Curtain Call to Dangerous Projectiles in the Middle of a Show
In particular, 2023 was a strangely big year for these incidents. Harry Styles, Cardi B, Lady Gaga, Kelsea Ballerini, and Steve Lacy all endured objects hurled from the audience. Meanwhile, a fan injured Ava Max after rushing the stage and slapping her in the face.
Billie Eilish also addressed the unsightly trend after an object struck her at a show that year. “I’ve been getting hit on stage with things for like literally six years … It’s absolutely infuriating when you’re up there,” she told the crowd. “But you know it’s out of love, and they’re just trying to give you something.”
However, in 2024, she was hit with an object once again. While part of audience etiquette used to be throwing bouquets of flowers onstage after a performance, fans seem to have lost the plot in these modern times. When did “flowers during curtain call” turn into “phones, bracelets, drinks, fuzzy handcuffs, your mother’s ashes, etc., in the middle of a performance”?
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