Ava Max was hit with such force by a concertgoer in Los Angeles that she sustained an eye injury.
The “Sweet But Psycho” singer, 29, detailed the harrowing incident via Twitter in the early morning hours of Wednesday, June 21, just hours after her Tuesday, June 20, show in L.A.
“He slapped me so hard that he scratched the inside of my eye. He’s never coming to a show again 😡😡,” Max wrote. “Thank you to the fans for being spectacular tonight in LA though!!❤️“
Per fan footage of the incident, the “Kings & Queens” artist was dancing and twirling around on stage when a man slapped her across the face. He was promptly carried off by a security guard.
According to a fan, Max powered through the drama and still chatted and took photos with meet and greet holders after the set.
“You can see here she couldn’t even open her eyes but she STILL did M&G. ILYSM 🙏🏼 @AvaMax,” Twitter user @corylarrabee wrote on Wednesday, sharing a photo of himself posing next to Max, who closed her eyes behind dark sunglasses.
The incident at Max’s show occurred just two days after fellow pop star Bebe Rexha was struck by a cell phone during her Sunday, June 18, show in New York City. The phone was hurled at the “I’m a Mess” singer, 33, by concertgoer Nicolas Malvagna, 27, who was arrested and charged with assault, according to authorities.
Rexha received a black eye from the hit and had to get stitches.
“On Sunday, June 18, 2023 at approximately 2200 hours, police were notified of an assault that occurred at the concert space of Pier 17 located at 89 South Street, within the confines of the 1st Precinct,” the New York City Police Department said in a statement at the time, noting that the perpetrator “intentionally threw a cell phone” at Rexha.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, Malvagna told police officers that he “was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny.”
On Tuesday, Todd A. Spodek, an attorney for Malvagna, issued a statement to TMZ about his client’s intent.
“As a fan, Mr. Malvagna’s sole intention was to have Ms. Rexha take photos with his phone, and return it as a keepsake. It was never his intention to injure Ms. Rehxa.”
One day after the attack, Rexha shared photos of her injury via social media, including two selfies that featured her black eye and stitches.
“I’m good,” Rexha captioned the Monday, June 19, Instagram snaps, seemingly making a tongue-in-cheek reference to her hit with David Guetta. In addition to her Instagram upload, Rexha also shared a TikTok video detailing her wounds. “I’m OK you guys,” she reassured fans in the caption of the post.
