#9 - Steve Brown On the night of January the 21st of 2018,
stand-up comic Steve Brown was performing at the Comedy House in Columbia, South Carolina,
when he was violently attacked by an enraged member of the audience.
In the wake of the incident, the Richland County Sheriff reported that the suspect,
identified as Marvin Toatley, had taken great offense to something Brown had said during
his comedy routine.
Eyewitness testimony revealed that Toatley vaulted over a table to get onto the stage,
at which point he began throwing punches at the comedian, who successfully dodged the
attacks.
As was captured in a shocking video of the assault, Toatley then grabbed a microphone
stand and repeatedly swung it at Brown before picking up a wooden stool and tossing it in
the comic’s direction.
Roughly 20 seconds into Toatley’s onslaught, 2 people rushed to the stage and positioned
themselves between him and Brown.
The former was then taken out of the venue by security and, a few days later, he was
arrested on charges of third-degree assault and battery and malicious injury to property.
Following his performance that night, Brown posted a video to Instagram in which he suggested
that comedy clubs should be held accountable for their lack of proper security.
#8 - Taylor Swift On August the 4th of 2015, Grammy Award-winning
singer-songwriter Taylor Swift was performing at the Rexall Place in Edmonton, Canada, as
part of the world tour of her 2014 synth-pop album 1989.
While then-25-year-old Swift sang one of the record’s hit singles, “Bad Blood”, she
had a frightening and involuntary interaction with a member of the audience.
As was captured by concert-goers’ cell phone cameras, a man suddenly rushed towards the
stage and lunged forward in an attempt to grab Swift’s leg.
Visibly startled, the pop icon stopped singing and stumbled backwards to avoid the fan’s
reach.
Then, a few seconds later, she resumed her performance as if nothing had happened.
Although it wasn’t shown in the video, which went viral in the incident’s aftermath,
subsequent reports suggested that the unidentified audience member had been swiftly dealt with
by security.
#7 - Esteban Alvarado During a Dutch Cup match between AZ Alkmaar
and Ajax F.C.
on December the 28th of 2011, a young man wearing jeans and a black T-shirt ran onto
the pitch and began charging towards Costa Rican goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado.
The latter noticed the incoming fan just in time to mount a defense and ended up knocking
him to the ground.
Alvarado then kicked the 19-year-old pitch invader multiple times while he was lying
on the grass.
Stewards rushed to the scene and escorted the fan off the field while Alvarado was subsequently
issued a red card for misconduct.
In the immediate aftermath, AZ Alkmaar’s head coach walked onto the pitch and told
his team to go back to their locker room.
Representatives from both teams, along with stadium officials, ultimately decided to cancel
the match, which was then rescheduled for a later date.
The Dutch Football Association eventually rescinded Alvarado’s red card while his
unidentified attacker was reportedly jailed for a period of 6 months.
#6 - Slash British-American musician Saul Hudson, better
known by the stage name Slash, rose to prominence in the 1980’s and ‘90s as the lead guitarist
for the California hard rock band Guns N’ Roses.
In 2010, Hudson was playing the solo from one of the group’s most famous songs, “Sweet
Child O’ Mine”, during a concert in the Italian city of Milan.
At the height of his performance, he was suddenly charged by a rowdy member of the audience.
Subsequent reports described the male fan as having been shirtless with dried blood
splattered around his mouth.
He emerged from the side of the stage and launched himself at Hudson.
Fortunately, a security guard had already been in pursuit and managed to tackle the
man to the ground before he grabbed the guitarist.
While Hudson was left unharmed, the neck of his custom-made Gibson guitar was reportedly
cracked after the altercation had caused him to drop it.
He temporarily left the stage to repair his instrument and ultimately came back to finish
the show with the rest of the band.
#5 - Dylan Avila Entertainer Dylan Avila served as the master
of ceremonies for a stand-up comedy show at The Local 907 bar and restaurant in Renton,
Washington, on January the 5th of 2015.
According to several eyewitnesses, Avila was about to introduce the next comedian to the
stage when an audience member suddenly charged towards him.
The man was wielding an aluminum baseball bat which he proceeded to swing at Avila’s
head.
He was struck twice before fellow comics and other members of the crowd intervened to contain
the attacker.
Avila was immediately taken to the hospital, where it was determined he’d suffered a
double skull fracture.
It was reported that he required 2 titanium plates in his head and 20 staples across his
skull to repair the damage that had been inflicted by the fan.
Although he largely recovered from his traumatic brain injury, doctors told Avila that he would
continue to experience lingering effects, including heightened emotions and increased
fatigue, for many years.
It later emerged that Avila’s assault had been carried out by fellow comedian Steve
Baldwin, who’d performed at The Local 907 on multiple occasions in the past.
Many reportedly found Baldwin’s comedy routine to be offensive and unfunny, so Avila and
the club’s owners banned him from performing at the venue.
Investigators believed that he’d targeted Avila as a form of retaliation.
Baldwin was arrested on assault charges, while Avila used the ordeal as inspiration for a
one-man show called “My Turn at Bat”.
He debuted the performance, which reportedly addressed his horrific bludgeoning in detail,
at The Rendezvous pub, in downtown Seattle, on January the 6th of 2018.
#4 - Billy Sharp Billy Sharp, an English professional footballer
and captain of the club Sheffield United, was attacked by a fan who’d run onto the
pitch following the EFL Championship semi-final match, on May the 17th of 2022.
Cameras that were live covering the event captured the incident, which prosecutors would
later deem “a deliberate and senseless act of violence”.
Although many members of the crowd had poured onto the pitch after the conclusion of the
match, the suspect, later named as Robert Biggs, dodged other spectators as he ran directly
towards Sharp.
Upon reaching the footballer, 30-year-old Biggs knocked him to the ground by headbutting
him in the face.
The team captain reportedly required four stitches on his lip in the attack’s aftermath.
In the early hours of the following morning, local police located Biggs and placed him
under arrest.
He was charged with assault causing actual bodily harm and was consequently jailed for
24 weeks.
The judge presiding over the case also ordered that Biggs, who was a season ticket holder
for the Nottingham Forest Football Club, be banned from attending any football matches
for a period of 10 years.
Nottingham Forest indicated that they were issuing Biggs a lifetime ban from any future
club events.
#3 - Dave Chappelle Comedian Dave Chappelle was attacked by an
audience member during a live performance at the Hollywood Bowl amphitheater in Los
Angeles, on May the 3rd of 2022.
The incident occurred at around 10:45 pm, as Chappelle was nearing the end of his stand-up
routine, which was part of the Netflix is a Joke comedy festival.
Footage from an audience member’s cell phone captured the moment 23-year-old Isaiah Lee
charged the stage and lunged at Chappelle.
Moments later, the attacker was tackled to the ground by security and led off the stage.
Chappelle was unharmed and subsequently carried on with his performance while the stage invader,
who’d reportedly suffered multiple injuries, was taken to a local hospital.
The following day, the LAPD announced that Lee had been arrested on a felony charge of
assault with a deadly weapon, as he’d reportedly been carrying a replica handgun with an ejecting
knife blade at the time of the attack.
Video clips of the incident, as well as Chappelle’s comments in its immediate aftermath, went
viral on social media.
Many praised Chappelle for the poise and professionalism he’d exhibited throughout the threatening
situation.
Lee, who was reported as suffering from mental health issues, later claimed that he’d been
“triggered” by the comedian’s jokes about homeless and transgender people.
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#2 - Lester Chambers Prominent soul singer Lester Chambers performed
at the Hayward-Russell City Blues Festival in downtown Hayward, California, on July the
13th of 2013.
At one point during the show, the 73-year-old musician announced that he was dedicating
the Curtis Mayfield song “People Get Ready” to the late Trayvon Martin.
The latter was a Florida teenager who’d been gunned down during an altercation with
a man named George Zimmerman in 2012.
Earlier on the day of Chambers’ performance, Zimmerman had been acquitted of second-degree
murder charges in connection to Martin’s killing.
Shortly after the singer’s mention of the slain teen, a female member of the audience,
identified as Dinalynn Andrews-Potter, loudly exclaimed “it’s all your fault”.
She then rushed the stage and forcefully shoved the elderly singer.
Other musicians sharing the stage with Chambers managed to restrain the woman until she was
taken into the custody of Hayward police.
Many believed that Andrews-Potter’s attack had been racially-motivated, and Chambers’
family therefore pushed for her to be charged with a hate crime.
However, the Alameda County District Attorney reportedly found no evidence that racial hostility
had played a part in the incident.
Andrews-Potter was ultimately charged with felony assault and elder abuse as a consequence
for the attack, which had left Chambers with bruised rib muscles and nerve damage.
#1 - Ally Brooke Singer Ally Brooke, one of the founding members
of the Miami girl group Fifth Harmony, was assaulted during a live performance in Mexico,
on the night of September the 29th of 2016.
A crazed fan rushed the stage and grabbed 23-year-old Brooke by the hair before attempting
to drag her away.
Within seconds, a security guard approached the attacker and removed him from the stage.
During the encounter, Brooke was knocked to the ground as her bandmates and the thousands
of audience members in attendance watched on in complete shock.
She then got back up, seemingly unaffected, and even blew a kiss to her attacker before
resuming the performance.
The incident occurred just 2 days after Brooke had been accosted by a fan at the Monterrey
International Airport in Nuevo León.
An unnamed individual had grabbed the singer shortly after the group had arrived in Mexico
and were making their way through a crowd that had gathered to see them in the airport
lounge.
In the wake of that experience, Brooke had pleaded with Fifth Harmony fans to be “careful
and gentle so nobody gets hurt”.
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