Concert-Goers Boo and Leave The Killers Show in Georgia Due to Russian Fan Onstage
American rock band The Killers has issued an apology after their lead vocalist, Brandon Flowers, invited a Russian fan onto the stage to play drums during their performance of "For Reasons Unknown" at a concert in Georgia. This action led to a portion of the audience booing and eventually leaving, as reported by Politico.
Georgia, a former Soviet state, still has a fifth of its territory occupied by Russia following the 2008 invasion.
During the show, in what the band referred to as an old stage tradition, The Killers invited a Russian fan from the audience to play drums onstage. In a video clip, frontman Brandon Flowers told the crowd that Russians and Georgians are "brothers and sisters." However, this statement prompted a wave of booing from the audience due to the tense history between the two nations, which disrupted the rest of the evening.
Mariam Nikuradze, a Georgian journalist from the capital city of Tbilisi, reported that audience members started standing up and leaving after this segment, and later the band left the stage without saying goodbye.
The band later stated, "Good people of Georgia, we never intended to offend anyone! We have a long-standing tradition of inviting people to play drums, and from the stage, it seemed the initial crowd reaction reflected agreement with the present tonight," according to The Guardian.
The band maintained that Flowers' comments onstage were intended to imply that the entire audience and The Killers' fans are "brothers and sisters." Nevertheless, they acknowledged that this sentiment "may have been misconstrued."
"We stand with you and hope to return soon," they added.
However, the widespread negative audience reaction suggests a different story. Georgian human rights advocate Ana Aptsiauri wrote, "Today, The Killers had a concert in Tbilisi. They brought a Russian drummer onto the stage, said, 'Georgians and Russians are brothers and sisters.' They say a lot went wrong. Please remind The Killers:
how to make music;
Russia is an occupier;
this is their last time here."
Russia continues to occupy 20% of Georgia's territory following the 2008 military invasion. Since 2022 and the onset of Russia's war against Ukraine, there has been an influx of Russians into Georgia, which gained independence from Soviet rule in 1991. Some Russians have faced a marked negative reception within Georgia.