Neptunes legend and creative director of men’s fashion at Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams, reportedly stopped his show at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix early after fans threw wristbands at him on stage.
The Virginia beatmaker took to the stage at the Saudi Corniche Circuit in Jeddah. Unfortunately, the concert didn’t play out how the ‘Frontin’ emcee wanted. According to a report by Music News, the 50-year-old, the situation became unsafe after fans began lobbing their light-up wristbands on stage.
Speaking to the crowd, Williams exclaimed, “This is the liveliest city right now on the planet but we have also got to be the safest. I know you guys are excited and I know you are wanting to throw your wrist gadgets and lights and all that, but you can’t as the girls are dancing. And me? I love women, how about you?”
He continued, “We must protect our women, so if you want to throw them lights, you have to throw them the other way, not at the stage. Who understands what I’m saying? Let’s take those stupid wristbands and throw them in the air right now when I count to three.”
Fans ignored Williams and continued to launch wristbands and as a result, Williams aborted his performance and walked off stage 15 minutes before he was scheduled to end his set.
Similar events to this have happened previously with other artists. In 2022, Kid Cudi exited the Rolling Loud stage after he was announced as a replacement for Kanye West, whose fans then began taunting Cudi.
“If I get hit with one more fucking thing, if I see one more fucking thing on this fucking stage, I’m leaving,” he told the crowd at the time. Speaking to Zane Lowe on his Apple Music show weeks later, Cudi said of the incident: “It’s supposed to be an unspoken agreement amongst artists and fans, that you’re supposed to give the utmost respect and not interfere with the performance.”