Why is Destroy Lonely facing criticism after Beach, Please Festival incident? Drama explained

Destroy Lonely Performs In Milan - Source: Getty
Destroy Lonely Performs In Milan - Source: Getty

Rapper Destroy Lonely has come under a lot of flak recently after getting involved in an incident at the Beach, Please! festival in Romania. The controversy arose when a 15-year-old fan named Nicholas jumped into the crowd upon the rapper's insistence, which caused him to fall down heavily on a metal barricade.

The young fan who was at the festival with his mother had to be carried off to the hospital due to the injuries he sustained in the fall. Previously, Destroy Lonely had invited him to appear on stage after noticing a message on his phone through a crowd of people. The rapper urged Nicholas to jump into the crowd and even encouraged the crowd to chant for the same.

Once he was on the stage, Nicholas reportedly obliged the rapper's request to do a stage dive into the crowd, but it came with serious repercussions. After hurtling into the metal barricades, the young fan has reportedly suffered serious injuries to his lungs, kidneys, legs, and shoulders.


Organizers' statement on Destroy Lonely

Destroy Lonely has been receiving massive blame for his active participation in the incident, and event managers, too, have been quick to condemn him. There is a national debate over the incident in Romania, and several news outlets covered it. Nicholas provided his report of the incidents that took place during the music festival in an interview with Adevărul, where he stated:

"He kept telling me to jump, I backed away and told him clearly that I didn't want to. And at some point, he grabbed my hoodie and kept pushing me. When I fell, I thought I was dying. I had no more air, I ran out of air. And I don't know. I thought that if I don't get help here, these will be my last moments"

Festival organizer Andrei Șelaru has also issued a statement in the wake of the incident, in which he criticized the rapper for his imprudent actions.

"The incident was caused by an irresponsible gesture by the artist Destroy Lonely, who, after inviting him on stage, insisted several times that the young man jump into the audience. We have decided that, starting today, we will no longer allow fans invited by artists to the stage. Although such moments may seem part of the atmosphere of a concert, they can become dangerous – and the safety of the participants is our absolute priority. We firmly condemn the behavior of Destroy Lonely . Consequently, we have decided to never collaborate with this artist again, regardless of his notoriety. For us, any participant is more important than any headliner."

Destroy Lonely is yet to respond to the incidents that unfolded at the Beach, Please! festival. As per Valahia.news, Nicholas' mother is already considering pressing charges against the rapper, which could lead him to a spot of bother and leave question marks about his participation in future musical events in Romania.

Edited by Sroban Ghosh