Pharrell Williams ended his set at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 15 minutes early due to dangerous crowd activity.
Per Music News, the iconic producer and singer addressed the crowd at the Grand Prix 15 – which took place at the Saudi Corniche Circuit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday (March 9). He informed them that throwing their light-up wristbands towards the stage was dangerous and unsafe, and quit his set earlier than anticipated after attendees refused to listen to him.
“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 told the audience.
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. And now we are done.”
Pharrell ended up leaving the stage due to the concert goers not listening to him with him announcing “OK, I am going to let you all finish,” before leaving the stage.
Last year, several artists had things thrown at them while performing, including Bebe Rexha, who was hit in the head by a fan’s phone and required stitches.
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Meanwhile, Pink was left stunned by a fan throwing their mother’s ashes on stage at BST Hyde Park, and Lil Nas X had to pause a show at the weekend when a fan threw a sex toy on stage.
Elsewhere, US country-pop artist Kelsea Ballerini was previously struck in the face by an item thrown at her from the crowd (via Variety). Back in late 2022 Harry Styles was hit in the eye by a sweet while he was performing in LA. He was also struck by a flying object during a gig in Chicago.
In other Pharrell news, the producer recently teamed up with Miley Cyrus on her latest single ‘Doctor (Work It Out)’.
He had previewed the single during a Louis Vuitton show in January before promising last week that the collab was “coming soon”.