POPSTARS have been issued advice by a PR expert who exclusively spoke to The U.S. Sun about the increasing problem of perfomers being hit by objects on stage.
In recent weeks singers including Harry Styles, Pink, Kelsea Ballerini, and Bebe Rexha have been struck by flying objects on stage.
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Edward Coram-James, a PR expert and CEO of GoUp spoke to The U.S. Sun about the move celebrities need to make to address the “complicated” issue.
Following such incidents hitting the headlines, Adele who is currently performing at her Las Vegas residency did just that by warning fans about throwing objects at her.
The 35-year-old said: “Have you noticed how people are forgetting f***ing show etiquette at the moment, they’re just throwing s*** on stage. Have you seen that?”
“F****ng dare you. Dare you to throw something at me and I’ll f***ing kill you,” she joked.
Coram-James explained that it is not a clear-cut issue of fans throwing objects being bad people.
He said: “The phenomena came to prominence not out of malice but because fans wanted their idols to take selfies, so would throw their phones on stage in the middle of the concert, in the hopes that the singer would oblige.
“It was normalized by some pop stars doing just that. For the problem to end, the behavior needs no longer to be normalized, and that means singers such as Harry Styles (who have been happy in the past to please fans by taking selfies with phones thrown on stage) making statements making it clear that it is no longer acceptable.
“Until that happens, from a PR point of view, any attempts at demonizing the thrower could look a bit insensitive.”
While Adele’s warning to concertgoers was half in jest, it is clear that she would not tolerate such behavior and therefore she is helping fight the now normalized behavior.
While many believe that the tradition of adoring fans throwing objects on stage began in the 1960s with the likes of Elvis, The Beatles, and the Rolling Stones, it actually began with Liszt, the composer in the 1800s.
However, this has now moved on from throwing delicate undergarments to bottles, phones, sweets, and even a bag of human ashes.
Last month Rexha was struck in the face with a mobile phone which required her to go to hospital and have stitches.
A video shared online shows the 33-year-old turning away from the crowd and falling to her knees as she clutched her face.
Prosecutors say the man charged with assaulting singer Bebe Rexha told cops he did it because he thought it would be amusing.
She has since returned to the stage wearing protective eyewear.
Country singer Kelsea Ballerini was also hit in the face last month during a show in Idaho with what is thought to have been a friendship bracelet.
Once the 29-year-old got struck by the flying object, she turned around and one of her band members went over to see if she was okay.
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Ballerini refused to turn around to look at the crowd before abruptly walking off the stage.
On Instagram, she admitted the experience “scared” her more than it physically “hurt” her.
Coram-James explained how there are “exceptions” to the rule that unless statements are made, demonizing the thrower could appear insensitive.
Using Rexha as an example he said: “It appears that the perpetrator that threw the phone at Rexha may well have done so with intent to cause actual harm.
“If that does prove to be the case, then I think that Ms Rexha has handled matters very well. Of course, she was injured by the throw, and it is only reasonable that she would feel rattled by it.”
However, the PR expert praised her attitude and said it was the perfect reaction.
He said: “By displaying a keep calm and carry-on attitude (an attitude that is universally respected and admired in terms of the PR optics) she has won new admirers.
“In general, when crisis strikes, the best way through is to keep composed, while also showing your humanity. It’s a very fine line to walk.
“Go too far in the “nothing to see here direction” and you can appear suspiciously unaffected. Fall apart in front of the world and you appear unstable.
“Being comfortable enough in your own skin to show fragility and humanity, while at the same time showing enough robustness not to put things out of proportion, and to keep plowing on, shows a balance and assuredness and makes you much more relatable.
“Rexha did just that. From a crisis comms point of view, ten points.”
In another even stranger incident, the singer Pink was performing at British Summer Time Festival in London when a bag of human ashes was launched on stage.
The shocked performer exclaimed to a fan: “Is this your mom?” before adding: “I don’t know how to feel about this” and placing the bag down by a speaker.
Meanwhile, Styles was hit in the face in June by a bouquet of pink flowers, while on tour in the UK.
The singer checked his face quickly before carrying on performing on Tuesday night.
Previously, the One Direction star has slipped on a Kiwi and been hit in the eye.
His song Kiwi prompted fans to bring the bristly fruit to shows and a supermarket chain even banned sales of kiwis to under-25s ahead of his gig in Manchester.
He has also been hit in the groin when a bottle was thrown at him while performing in Los Angeles which saw him wince and say “Now that’s unfortunate.”
According to Coram-James, his instinct to laugh off such instances or ignore them and quickly recover will increase the normalization of such behavior, and he should instead issue some kind of statement.
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