Every concert is better with an enthusiastic crowd — unless, of course, fans go overboard. It happened to Britney Spears Wednesday night when an audience member jumped onstage during one of her Piece of Me residency shows in Las Vegas, and stars from Travis Scott to Taylor Swift have been rattled by fans rushing the stage too.
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No matter how tight the security, there’s a long history of crazed concert-goers taking fandom one step too far — literally. Below, check out 11 crazy cases that show what goes down when fans storm the stage, from a One Direction concert that left close to 50 fans with asphyxia to the the time Chance The Rapper took down a stage-crasher himself.
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Taylor Swift
San Diego, 2015
One over-eager Taylor Swift fan brewed up some “Bad Blood” with the singer when he rushed onstage and brawled with four security guards at a 2015 concert in San Diego. Not only did the man identified as 26-year-old Christian Ewing sneak onstage, but he managed to get into the sold-out show without a ticket. Though Swift was able to — ahem — shake it off enough to continue her performance of “Style,” the incident left one guard with a broken rib, according to the San Diego Tribune. Ewing was placed on probation and screened by the San Diego Probation Department’s mentally ill offender unit, where it determined he was not mentally competent to stand trial.
Nicki Minaj
Miami, 2012
Don’t mess with Nicki Minaj when she’s spitting beats. The “Swalla” rapper’s security guards made that clear during the Miami stop of her Pink Print tour in 2012, when one crazed fan jumped onstage and refused to let go of Nicki’s waist. But security’s takedown of the unruly crowd member was the scariest part — video footage of the incident shows the stage-rusher getting punched and stomped on before being dragged offstage in a choke-hold.
Adam Levine
Edmonton, 2015
Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine had quite the scare while onstage in Edmonton in 2015 when a starstruck female fan ran onstage — to give him a kiss. After planting one on Levine during his rendition of “She Will Be Loved” (around the 3:10 mark in the video below), the fan sprinted back to her seat, no security necessary. “You scared the sh– out of me, man,” Levine shared between verses.
Demi Lovato
Paraguay, 2012
Demi Lovato got a bit more than she bargained for after inviting fans to the empty pit in front of the stage for a better view during a 2012 performance in Paraguay. Demi probably didn’t expect a horde of hysterical concert-goers to leap over the security barrier, mobbing the “Sorry Not Sorry” singer before she was whisked offstage by security guards. “You gotta chill out,” Lovato told the crowd after emerging back onstage.
Travis Scott
Lollapalooza, 2015
It took just five minutes for a horde of stage-storming fans to shut down Travis Scott’s performance at Lollapalooza in 2015 — but this time, it was Scott himself who faced charges for the damage. In videos of Scott’s brief show, the rapper is seen encouraging the crowd to jump over the barricades, starting a chant of “we want rage.” Scott was arrested that same day in connection with the riot that ensued and charged with disorderly conduct, Chicago’s ABC 7 reported.
Ariana Grande
Philadelphia, 2017
During a Philadelphia stop on Ariana Grande‘s Dangerous Woman tour in March, one young male fan appeared to creep behind the singer for a good 20 seconds as she knelt to perform “Moonlight.” Grande appeared unfazed by the whole thing, urging security guards to “be gentle with” the trespasser once they finally got a hold of him.
Video of Ariana Grande performing on stage while a fans sneak behind her & security took him off the stage
” Ari says please be gentle ” pic.twitter.com/nzhBtzUtUe— Ariana Grande Update (@ArianatorDesire) March 2, 2017
Action Bronson
London, 2015
Action Bronson doesn’t need security to keep disruptive fans in line — he can defend the stage by himself. The “Actin Crazy” rapper is known for body-slamming stage-crashers who dare to encroach on his space, like in this video from a London show in 2015. Around the 0:35 mark, Bronson throws punches at a fan who sneaks on from backstage before tossing him by the collar back into the crowd.
Chance The Rapper
Miami, 2016
Chance seemed to take a cue from his “Baby Blue” collaborator Bronson during a concert in Miami last year, when he tackled a fan who interrupted his performance of the Coloring Book hit “Blessings (Reprise).” The fan seemed to walk away unscathed — and slightly stunned — while Chance lost his hat in the scuffle.
.@chancetherapper handled that real quick pic.twitter.com/KHwZBz4G7x
— HotNewHipHop (@HotNewHipHop) October 11, 2016
One Direction
Peru, 2014
One Direction mania turned dangerous during the band’s Where We Are tour stop in Peru in 2014, where 47 concert-goers were treated with symptoms of asphyxia. It turns out even the 40,000-capacity Estadio Nacional stadium in Lima wasn’t enough room to hold the excitement of attendees, who were seen rushing toward the stage and coming close to trampling other fans. “If you don’t want anyone to take us off the stage, make sure you stay back,” Niall Horan can be heard telling the crowd in video posted by the U.K.’s Daily Mirror.
Faith Hill & Tim McGraw
Louisiana, 2007
Tim McGraw may be a charmer, but hit on the country star — or worse, attempt grope him — and his wife Faith Hill might take you down. That’s what happened when a female fan grabbed McGraw in the crotch area during a concert in Louisiana in 2007, as he walked between the stage and barricades to greet fans. As several news outlets including People reported at the time, Hill responded by chastising the fan, yelling, “somebody needs to teach you some class, my friend” and “you don’t go grabbin’ somebody else’s, somebody’s husband’s [private parts], you understand me?” All video evidence of the incident has since been deleted — likely at Hill and McGraw’s request.