A man accused of throwing a cellphone at Bebe Rexha's face during a concert in New York City over the weekend has explained what motivated him to commit the assault.
"I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny" the accused, Nicolas Malvagna, said according to a criminal complaint cited by the New York Post.
The incident took place Sunday night while Rexha was performing at the Rooftop at Pier 17.
Malvagna allegedly hurled the phone toward the singer-songwriter, striking her in the face. She collapsed to her knees in pain before being rushed off stage to be seen by medics. She was transported to an area hospital in stable condition.
Malvagna, 27, was arrested and charged with assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment after his alleged stunt.
Concert-goer Brian Good, 48, recalled the "scary" incident to the Post.
"She staggered around, fell down, and her people pulled her off the stage," he said of Rexha.
"Bebe struggles a lot in the industry because of their bias against her age and weight," he added. "She kept mentioning things that had happened to her in the city or when she was growing up and how happy the show was for her as a sort of homecoming. Sad it ended like that."
Earlier this month, Rexha called out online trolls who had been criticizing her weight.
"Yes, I'm in my fat era and what?" she tweeted alongside a mirror selfie of her in the bathroom with her midsection exposed.
The image was accompanied by a screenshot of TikTok's suggestions for what others on the app search for. This included phrases such as "bebe rexha coachella fat," "bebe rexha getting fat same," "bebe rexha halftime fat," and "bebe rexha before and after."
Rexha provided a health update Monday on social media. Taking to Instagram, she posted a photo showing her bruised eye.
"I'm good," she captioned the photo.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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