Pink's concert at Hyde Park over the weekend took an expected turn when a fan launched a bag of her mum's ashes at the singer on stage during the middle of a song. The 43-year-old was belting out Just Like A Pill when she saw a plastic bag land by her feet.
With a confused look on her face, the US songstress then picks up the item while looking out to someone in the crowd. "Wait, this is your mum?" she asks a fan.
"I don't know how I feel about this," the popstar admits before placing the bag near a speaker at the edge of the stage and diving back into her song. The moment has done the rounds on social media after footage was uploaded by concert-goers - which has now been analysed by a body language expert.
Speaking to the Mirror, author and behaviour expert Judi James, said the singer-songwriter made a "lovely" gesture the fan at the end of the clip in response to being given the bag. "Pink smiles sheepishly before launching back into her song but her next gesture could have been seen as touching for the fan," she said.
"Pink puts her left hand over her heart, giving the fan their message whether the gesture was a regular part of the act or not." Judi adds that she thought Pink dealt with the encounter admirably.
Commenting on the first instance Pink sees the bag, Judi says: "Laughter or a look of horror might have been inappropriate if there was someone mourning their loss out there in the audience. But the 'gift' did seem to draw on all of Pink’s maturity as a performer in the moment of confusion."
But after analysing Pink's action, the expert said her curiosity swiftly turned to confusion and described the scenes as being "like a head teacher confiscating someone’s loot". Referencing the singer's expression during the interaction, Judi continued: "[It was] an expression of shocked disbelief but happily not open rejection or disgust.
"Her mouth falls open in surprise and her pose looks frozen. Creeping forward gingerly she puts the packet down again with a small, nervous-looking fiddling movement of her fingers."
Judi went on to discuss how her body language was crucial to hopefully not making this become a regular item for concert goers to bring to gigs. "Recently there has been an outbreak of audience gestures," she said. "That range from the marriage proposal at Elton’s Glasto gig to the phone that got thrown at poor Bebe Rexha.
"So any display that looks too encouraging of show-stopping actions or events might not be a great idea for future performances in case it becomes a trend."
