Singer Harry Styles was hit in the face with a Skittle thrown by an audience member at a concert in Los Angeles on Monday, November 14. As he thanked the crowd during his Love On Tour concert he can be seen wincing and holding his eye.
Luckily, the “Watermelon Sugar” singer recovered from the incident because getting hit with a flying object from a far distance could cause serious injury.
The incident inspired Skittles to speak out on Twitter. “Didn’t think I needed to say this: Please don’t throw Skittles,” the candy company tweeted.
“The entire fandom thanks you for this. I think the person that threw them should be banned from ever buying them again,” a Styles fan responded to the tweet.
u201cDidnu2019t think I needed to say this: Please donu2019t throw Skittles.u201d— SKITTLES (@SKITTLES)
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Here’s footage of the incident.
u201cwhoever the fuck threw a solid object at his eye, u literally ruined kiwi bc he wouldnu2019t open his eye for the whole songu201d— mandiud83cudfe0HARRY TALKED TO ME?? (@mandiud83cudfe0HARRY TALKED TO ME??)
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u201cYALLLLLL. This goes without saying. ud83dudc4fud83cudffb DO ud83dudc4fud83cudffb NOT ud83dudc4fud83cudffb THROW ud83dudc4fud83cudffb STUFF ud83dudc4fud83cudffb AT ud83dudc4fud83cudffb PEOPLE ud83dudc4fud83cudffb Harry Styles took a forcefully thrown skittles to the freaking eye last night. Come on, use some common sense!! ud83dude21u201d— jennie (@jennie)
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Skittles took things a step further on Saturday, November 19, by posting a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times warning people not to hurl their candy at anyone. “Protect the rainbow. Taste the rainbow. But please, don’t throw the rainbow,” the ad read.
u201cPSA: Protect your eyes from Skittles (by eating them, not throwing them)u201d— SKITTLES (@SKITTLES)
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This isn’t the first time Styles has been hit with objects on stage. Earlier this year, he was hit in the crotch with a water bottle. He played the direct hit off with his trademark humor, “That’s unfortunate.”
u201cHarry talking to the crowd before the Unfortunate nEvent at United Center in Chicago, IL – October 14(via @glambygab)u201d— HSD Love On Tour (@HSD Love On Tour)
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He was also assaulted with a chicken nugget. After the crowd demanded he eat it, he refused because he’s a vegetarian. Plus, it was cold.
u201chttps://t.co/rHCWvuQNEMu201d— u2661u2728kalina midnights erau2728u2661 (@u2661u2728kalina midnights erau2728u2661)
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Let’s hope that all of the publicity surrounding the pegging doesn’t inspire copycat Skittle tossers to pelt Styles even further. Styles probably doesn’t want Skittle hurling to become a concert tradition like when people throw toilet paper and shoot off squirt guns while watching “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
Styles isn’t the first rock star to be assaulted on stage with candy.
The Beatles had some real troubles in their early years after guitarist George Harrison admitted that he loves jelly beans. Fans reacted by pelting him with candy while the band played on stage.
“We don’t like Jelly Babies, or Fruit Gums for that matter, so think how we feel standing on stage trying to dodge the stuff, before you throw some more at us,” he wrote to a fan in 1963. “Couldn’t you eat them yourself, besides it is dangerous. I was hit in the eye once with a boiled sweet, and it’s not funny!”
The Foo Fighters had a similar problem after they made fun of Mentos commercials in the video for their 1996 hit, “Big Me.”
“Every time we played it, it would just start raining Mentos, and them mother fu**ers hurt,” Grohl said according to Gigwise. “We did a show in Canada and, in the middle of the song, someone threw a pack, and it hit me right in the face. I was so pissed, I picked it up and said, ‘It’s been 10 fu**ing years since that video.'”
Here’s Grohl explaining the situation on stage.
Warning: Strong language.