Initially berating fans over an altercation during their concert, Hayley Williams and co apologized after it's revealed the brawl happened after a man had assaulted multiple women.
- Jun 4, 2023
AceShowbiz - Paramore's Hayley Williams broke up a pair of fans fighting mid-song at Madison Square Garden this week. The 34-year-old singer stopped their performance of "Figure 8" at the famous New York City venue on Tuesday night, May 30 to try and stop the gig-goers and admitted she was not afraid to "embarrass" them.
"What is happening?" she said. "Yes, I will embarrass both of you. Both of you need to find somewhere else to take care of that s*** because that's not happening here tonight, this is our house."
She asked them, "How are you gonna disrupt one of our favourite songs to play at our show?" Hayley then asked the crowd, "By the way, what you were doing in that pre-chorus when you were screaming it like you're at a hardcore show?"
The band proceeded with the concert after the audience let them know the pair had been sorted out.
The brawl comes after a man "physically and verbally assaulted multiple women" at their Salt Lake City concert last year. Hayley and co were unaware of the alleged incidents while on stage at The Great Saltair in Utah on October 4, as it all happened out of their view. The abusive man was restrained and escorted out of the venue by security.
And the rock band later apologised to those who were abused or witnessed the acts of "violence, homophobia and bigotry." Paramore said that had they seen the assaults, the "Misery Business" hitmakers would have stopped the show immediately.
They wrote, "At last night's show in SLC, we were made aware of an incident that happened in the crowd while we were on stage. A man physically and verbally assaulted multiple women, including an engaged couple at our show. Our security team and venue staff were made aware and were able to restrain and remove him."
"We did not realise this was happening, as the incident took place out of view from stage. Had we seen any of this happening, we would have stopped the show until the situation was under control."
"PARAMORE DOES NOT CONDONE violence, homophobia, or bigotry of any kind. It is supremely unwelcome in our community and has no place at our shows. To the fans who were hurt by or who witnessed what happened last night, we are so sorry."
"We hope that you know we will always do anything we can to protect you and make you feel celebrated. To make things as clear as possible, Paramore shows are meant to be a safe place for people. If you can't respect that do not come (sic)."
