Country music star Kelsea Ballerini halted her show Wednesday after she was struck in the face by a bracelet hurled by a concertgoer.
Ballerini was performing at the Outlaw Field at the Idaho Botanical Garden in Boise, Idaho.
Video footage of the incident shows Ballerini flinch, then turn away from the crowd while holding her hand to her face. Ballerini then removed her guitar and walked off the stage. After a brief break, she returned.
"Can we just talk about what happened?" she later addressed the crowd, according to The Wrap.
"All I care about is keeping everyone safe. If you ever don't feel safe, please let someone around you know. If anyone's pushing too much or you just have that gut feeling, just always flag it," she added. "Don't throw things."
Ballerini provided fans with an update Thursday via her Instagram stories, saying, "I'm fine."
"Someone threw a bracelet, it hit me in the eye, and it more so just scared me than hurt me," she wrote. "We all have triggers and layers of fears 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 place for all of us. I love you and appreciate all of the concern, let's make the last two shows of the Heartfirst tour the best yet."
Last week, during a performance in New York City, singer Bebe Rexha was struck in the face by a cellphone thrown from the audience.
Rexha was rushed off stage and transported to a hospital in stable condition. The man who the threw object was arrested and charged with assault, aggravated harassment, attempted assault, and harassment.
"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.
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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