Rapper Cardi B is under investigation for battery after throwing a microphone at a fan during a performance in Las Vegas. The attack came after a fan threw water at the artist’s face from the standing area of the venue. Fan-recorded videos from the event show that Cardi B had asked the audience to throw water onto the stage, but the rapper later went on to express her feelings about it being aimed at her face.
“A [expletive] got [expletive] assaulted. When water and ice get thrown in your [expletive] face and hit you mad hard. What happened yesterday was blatantly disrespectful,” said the rapper in an interview with Stationhead.
A 26-year-old woman who was standing next to the fan has since filed a police report with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for battery. She says the microphone hit her shoulder and she is now “experiencing pain because of the incident.” The police have yet to issue a citation or arrest.
At a separate performance in Las Vegas Cardi B threw another microphone at her DJ. Witnesses say the DJ at Drai’s Nightclub was cutting songs in the rapper’s tracklist short.
A Growing Trend
Cardi B is the latest victim in a recent trend of artists having items thrown at them on stage. Most notably, singer Bebe Rhexa was hit with a phone while on stage leading her to get stitches on her left eye. Other artists including Drake, Harry Styles, and Pink have been hit with or dodged various items.
According to social psychologist John Drury, this issue has always existed but has gotten worse since concerts and other events have continued post the COVID-19 pandemic. “People are now more individual-focused. They attend events for their own individual pleasure, and they’re not really thinking about being part of a group or a collective in the way that they might have been before,” says Drury. These attacks also appear to be more frequent in larger venues as they create a sense of anonymity. At smaller shows the audience feels “a sense of community or shared identity with those others that might be less widespread at these bigger events.”
Going Forward
Like Cardi B, some artists are now fighting back or taking preventative measures against these attacks. Singer Adele gave her audience a warning before a show in Las Vegas: “I [expletive] dare you. I dare you to throw something at me, and I’ll [expletive] kill you.”
Since the initial microphone-throwing incident, many fans have taken to social media to express their concerns about future concerts.
she started something she couldn’t finish and ran to the police?? concerts are about to become a lot more impersonal https://t.co/BILeRx5vZl
— ???????????????????? (@heyyitsjanea) July 31, 2023
The microphone Cardi B threw into the audience is currently up for auction and is expected to sell for between $250,000 and $500,000.
Written by Elena Wilson
Sources:
NPR: Cardi B is the latest artist to have something thrown at them. So she threw a mic; by Ayana Archie
ABC7: Another video shows Cardi B throwing mic while onstage in Las Vegas, this time toward her DJ
Insider: The woman Cardi B threw a microphone at reported a ‘battery’ to authorities, but police aren’t arresting anyone yet; by Natalie Musumeci and Grace Eliza Goodwin
KSNV: Cardi B throws microphone at DJ during another Las Vegas show; by Gabrielle Zabat
KSNV: Police report reveals new details in Cardi B incident at Las Vegas beachclub; by Martha Cruz
WBUR: Why are fans throwing objects — and cremains — at performers? Unpacking bad concert behavior; by Celeste Headlee, Hafsa Quraishi, and Grace Griffin
Marca: Cardi B: Auction for the microphone with which she assaulted a fan fetches big money
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Sean Davis’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Jörg Schubert’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
