Minneapolis, MN
Country star hit in the face onstage with X-rated item
Celebrities often deal with unruly fans at their concerts, so it’s not the first time Wallen has had something thrown at him. Last year, an irritated fan chucked a boot at the country singer as they waited for him to sign an autograph. Instead of signing it, he turned to throw it away from where it came from.
I Had Some Help recently enjoyed five undisrupted weeks at the top of the charts, allowing the Cowgirls singer to take the crown for the most weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the 2020s from Taylor Swift.
Wallen is currently in the North American leg of his One Night at a Time World Tour, performing at stadiums around the globe. He’ll be performing at shows across the US until August 9, before jetting off to Europe for a slew of more shows from August 28.
Many of Wallen’s North American concerts had to be cancelled and rescheduled last year after the singer needed to treat vocal fold trauma, which the National Institute of Health explains is “caused by excessive or improper use of the voice”.
He was able to return to the stage a month later after being given the all-clear by his doctors.
On April 7, Wallen was arrested on three felony counts after he allegedly threw a chair off the bar roof of a six-storey building in Nashville.
A group of police officers were on the ground outside the building when the chair landed about 1 metre away from them. They entered the building and went up to Nashville’s Chiefs Bar, and staff identified Wallen as responsible for throwing the chair.
Later that month, the country singer addressed concerned fans by sharing a statement accepting fault for the incident on X.
“I didn’t feel right publicly checking in until I made amends with some folks. I’ve touched base with Nashville law enforcement, my family, and the good people at Chief’s. I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility,” Wallen wrote.
“I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe. Regarding my tour, there will be no change.”
Despite his apology, Wallen’s arrest has landed him in hot water with the Nashville Metro Council. In a 30-3 vote last month, Nashville council members rejected an application to install a billboard sign atop Wallen’s under-construction This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen in central Nashville, reported People.
Explaining her decision, Councilwoman at Large Delishia Porterfield pointed to the singer’s controversial past.
“We want to make sure that Nashville was a supportive place for everyone, so I don’t want to see a billboard with the name of a person who’s throwing chairs off balconies and who is saying racial slurs, using the n-word, so I’m voting no,” Porterfield said.