Cardi B fought back when a rude fan decided to fling a drink at her onstage: The “WAP” rapper furiously threw her microphone at her attacker.
In a now-viral video shared Saturday on social media, Cardi B is seen retaliating quickly when a concertgoer standing at the edge of the stage tosses up the contents of a large white cup, splashing her face and soaking her orange swimsuit cover-up as she performed her No. 1 hit “Bodak Yellow.” She berated the individual as security retrieved her microphone and appeared to remove the fan from the outdoor show at Drai’s Beachclub in Las Vegas. The video has 68 million views and counting.
The rapper later retweeted another video of the incident shared by a fan account. USA TODAY has reached out to her representative for comment.
On Sunday, the fan filed a police report for battery. No arrests or citations were issued, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Additional footage of Cardi’s performance, shared by the account @TheJuicePop on X − formerly Twitter − shows Cardi seemingly welcoming getting splashed by fans. “Give me water,” Cardi says in the clip, after which fans splashed her backside. It’s not clear if the footage was taken before or after the face-splashing incident.
“This trend of attending female artists’ sets just to attack them is disgusting and I hope everyone participating gets that energy BACK,” @celestifairy tweeted in response.
“She did what needed to be done!” @crdisdior wrote. “People need to stop throwing stuff at performers!”
The rapper released her new song “Jealousy” on Friday, which teams her with husband, Migos star Offset.
Cardi B, 30, is the latest artist to face an attack from audience members. Last month, a man was charged with assault after hitting pop singer Bebe Rexha with a phone. Similarly, an audience member slapped dance-pop singer Ava Max at a concert in June and scratched the inside of her eye. Elsewhere, someone recently threw a bracelet at Kelsea Ballerini, a bag of human ashes at Pink and a sex toy at Lil Nas X.
Rexha’s assailant, Nicolas Malvagna, 27, of New Jersey, was arrested and charged with assault, the New York Police Department confirmed to USA TODAY.
Adele pre-emptively confronted the issue at a concert earlier this month. “Have you noticed how people are, like, forgetting show etiquette at the moment, throwing (things) onstage? Have you seen it?” the pop-soul singer asked. Later, she joked, “I dare you, dare you to throw something at me.”
Experts say this behavior likely stems from the blurring of online and real-life boundaries, leaving fans clamoring for viral moments with their favorite artists.
“The disregard for personal space and the willingness to inflict harm indicates a significant breakdown in empathy and understanding,” Nathan Brandon, a licensed psychologist, told USA TODAY.
Contributing: David Oliver, Morgan Hines, Joy Ashford and Edward Segarra, USA TODAY
Lil Nas X almost hit by sex toy.Bebe Rexha hit by phone. What concert behavior says about us.
