(UPDATE: 6/29/23 at 12:20 P.M. ET): The morning after Kelsea was hit with a bracelet onstage, she took to Instagram to give an update about her condition. “I’m fine,” she wrote. “Someone threw a bracelet and it hit me in the eye, and it more so just scared me than hurt me. We all have triggers and different layers of fear 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. That’s all I ever want, is for shows to feel like a safe space for us all. I love you and appreciate all the concern. Let’s make the last two shows of the Heartfirst Tour the best yet.”
(ORIGINAL STORY):The latest artist to fall victim to a fan throwing an object onstage is Kelsea Ballerini. The singer was performing her Heartfirst Tour on June 28 when someone in the crowd threw a friendship bracelet toward the stage and hit her right in the face. Kelsea looked stunned as she turned her head away from the audience and put a hand to her face. She was so startled, in fact, that she stopped singing, and one of her band members had to come over and take a look at her eye.
Guys. I know we all mean well. We all want to show Kelsea love the best way we know how, and shower her with all the gifts. But throwing things on stage where artists are already so vulnerable is NOT the move. If you can’t hand it to her, there are so many other options. Lord,… pic.twitter.com/oIgy2JDn3V
— Kelsea Central • fan account (@KelseaCentral) June 29, 2023
Eventually, Kelsea continued playing her guitar, but the injury was clearly bad enough that she wasn’t ready to turn around and face the crowd yet. She waved a hand their way to urge them to keep the energy up as she made her way toward the back of the stage. Once the song ended, she ran to the side of the stage for the next part of the set, and as able to come back out and continue the show.
Our sweet, sweet trooper 🤍
📹: brittneyy1122 on instagram pic.twitter.com/kMmDJLtTT5
— Kelsea Central • fan account (@KelseaCentral) June 29, 2023
However, when she returned, she gave a speech to the crowd about safety at her shows. “If you ever feel unsafe, please let someone around you know,” she urged. “There’s security everywhere tonight. If people are pushing too much or you just have that gut feeling or anything. Always find it. Don’t throw things, ya know? I always want shows of mine — every show for every artist — I want it to be a safe place for everyone. Will you help me do that tonight, please?”
This incident follows a similar moment at one of Bebe Rexha’s shows earlier this month, when an audience member threw a phone at her face as she performed. Bebe was left with a massive black eye and had to have stitches. The thrower was arrested afterward. Pink had a similar situation occur, as well, when someone in the crowd threw their mother’s ashes at her onstage. The incidents have led to an outcry from fans, begging others not to follow suit in hopes of keeping their favorite artists’ safe.
This is the third leg of Kelsea’s Heartfirst Tour, which kicked off in 2022 to go along with her album Subject to Change, which dropped in September. In the midst of the tour, Kelsea was also on the road opening for Kenny Chesney earlier this year. The Heartfirst Tour wraps on July 1, and then Kelsea will end her string of shows with concerts on July 4 and July 7. She does not have any plans to tour for the remainder of the year after that.