Machine Gun Kelly lept to defend himself after he was taken by surprise by a fan who rushed at him on stage during Forbes’s Under 30 Summit.
On Tuesday (10 October), the rapper was in conversation with the magazine’s editor, Kristin Stoller, to discuss “venturing into entrepreneurship and impacting culture” at the company’s annual conference – held in Cleveland, Ohio this year.
As Kelly (real name Colson Baker), 33, was speaking about founding his Cleveland-based cafe, 27 Club Coffee, a man approached him from behind.
In footage of the moment, the startled singer-songwriter can be seen jumping to his feet with his fists balled, warning the person: “My man, get the f*** away from me.”
The man then gestures with his hands up to suggest he doesn’t plan on harming Kelly.
Kelly asks: “Yo, what are you doing? What are you doing? This is a bad look. Don’t make me do this.”
A security guard then runs on stage to pick the man up and take him away.
The “My Exes Best Friend (with blackbear)” singer returned to his seat before apologising to the crowd for his “primal reaction”.
“You handled that amazingly,” Stoller tells him.
The man was escorted out of the venue and was later seen seated against a wall surrounded by security. It’s not yet known if he is facing police charges.
The Independent has contacted Cleveland police for comment.
This is just the latest in a string of incidents involving fans charging celebrities on stage. In August, Drew Barrymore was ushered off stage during a New York City live event after an alleged stalker approached the stage, yelling: “You know who I am. I need to see you at some point while you’re in New York.”
The man, who identified himself as Chad Michael Busto, was later arrested at New York Fashion Week after he demanded to see Emma Watson.
In a more vicious attack last year, author Salman Rushdie was brutally stabbed by a 24-year-old man named Hadi Matar while he was giving a public lecture at New York’s Chautauqua Institute.
Rushdie suffered four wounds to the stomach, three wounds to the right side of his neck and additional wounds to his right eye, chest and his right thigh. Matar has been charged with attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail.
The 76-year-old Booker Prize winner, who has been left blind in one eye from the attack, recently announced his forthcoming memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, about the traumatic event.
