Luke Bryan is speaking out after he was pelted by a ball thrown at him while performing during his โCountry Song Came On Tourโ stop at the North Dakota State Fair on July 26.
The โAmerican Idolโ judge was singing โCountry Girl (Shake It For Me)โ when the ball hit him in the head. He immediately backed up a few steps and continued with the performance.
โPoor @Luke Bryan got hit in the face during his encore ๐ carried on like a champ though,โ someone who shared a clip of moment captioned it on TikTok.
Bryan responded to the moment in an interview with Taste of Country, a country music publication.
โItโs the last song of the night. It was a big ole fun party, and I think one person just took it too far,โ Bryan said.
Bryan, who recently canceled shows after getting COVID, said heโs aware that having items tossed as you is a hazard of the job for all performers.
โWe see it. Every other entertainer out there is getting stuff โ you get stuff thrown at ya,โ he said.
โYou hope that you can see who did it,โ he added.
Bryan said if he had seen who threw the ball, he may have confronted the person, although he knows that couldโve potentially altered the concert.
โI mean, if I saw him throw it, I could have gone right to him,โ he said. โI probably would have jumped right off in there.โ
โIf I jump off in there … there were a lot of little kids down there,โ he added. “At that point, if Iโd even stopped it and pointed somebody out, it kills the vibe of the show.โ
Fans who saw the TikTok video were quick to chastise the person who threw the ball.
โShame on whoever did this,โ one person commented.
โWhy do people do this?โ asked someone else.
โomg people need to stop throwing things,โ another person wrote.
โWhy? Just why?โ someone else wondered.
This episode follows a spate of similar incidents that occurred in 2023 when multiple artists were hit by various items while they were onstage. The list of artists includes Harry Styles, Pink, Cardi B, Bebe Rexha, Drake and Kelsea Ballerini, among others. Ava Max says she was slapped by a fan. Earlier this year, Morgan Wallen was hit by a thong.
Billie Eilish, who was hit during a concert as recently as last December, has addressed the trend.
โIโve been getting hit on stage with things for like, literally, six years, I donโt know why this is like new,โ the “Birds of a Feather” singer told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. โPeople just get excited and it can be dangerous.โ
