Devendra Kumar
Ava Max, the US pop star, was left reeling after an alleged stage invader slapped her so hard during a show in Los Angeles that it scratched the inside of her eye. The incident occurred at The Fonda Theatre on Tuesday, and videos shared online showed the man appearing to hit Max in the face while she was performing. Max, 29, flinched and held her eye after the incident before leaving the stage soon after.
In a Twitter post, Max described the incident, writing, “He slapped me so hard that he scratched the inside of my eye. He’s never coming to a show again. Thank you to the fans for being spectacular tonight in LA though!!” Max’s representative confirmed the incident, stating that the singer suffered a scratched eyeball as a result of the slap.
An eyewitness, Joel Rangel, who captured the moment on video, told the press that the stage invader, 30-year-old Joel Rangel from Tucson, Arizona, jumped onto the stage during Max’s performance of her song The Motto, with his arms wide open as if attempting to hug her. However, security rushed to restrain him, and in the process, his arm hit Max in the face.
Rangel, who flew to Los Angeles from Arizona to attend the concert, described the scene, stating, “She was ending the show with her song The Motto and a fan just ran and jumped on the left side of the stage. As he jumped on stage, some of the lights fell to the floor, and he was running for Ava with his arms wide open like he was going to hug her. But the security ran and grabbed him, and as they did, she just happened to turn, and his arm was out, and hit her in the face.”
The incident led to the cancellation of the meet-and-greet session, as Max had to wear sunglasses and was disoriented and dazed. She eventually made an appearance at the meet-and-greet a hour later, looking visibly shaken.
Max’s debut studio album, Heaven & Hell, reached number two on the UK album charts in 2020, and her subsequent albums have continued to enjoy success. The incident comes on the heels of a similar incident involving Bebe Rexha, who sustained facial injuries after an audience member threw a phone at her during a New York performance.