Photo credit: Miranda Lambert / CC from 4.0
During a recent performance in Las Vegas, Miranda Lambert abruptly cuts off mid-song to call a group of fans more intent on taking selfies than watching the show.
Everyone gets annoyed with cell phones at concerts sometimes, and Miranda Lambert is no exception. During a recent show, the country star stopped a few bars into an acoustic performance of her song “Tin Man” to call out to a group of concertgoers who were more focused on taking photos than paying attention to the show.
“I’m going to stop here for a second; I’m sorry. These girls are worried about their selfie and because they don’t hear the song. It’s getting on my nerves a bit,” Lambert said, gesturing toward a group near the stage. “I do not like it. At all. We’re here tonight to hear some country music. I sing fucking country music.”
Then Miranda Lambert started the song again while the fans cheered her on for speaking her mind. According to reports, several fans too gone out of the show after the break, although it’s not clear if it was just the fans called out by the singer or if others went out of solidarity.
Reactions to the incident on social media have ranged from fully agreeing that Lambert spoke up to saying the singer’s behavior was rude. “People paid to be there; They can do whatever they want,” one person wrote. “How much did you pay to be right next to the stage?”
Some fans argued that the problem wasn’t that fans were taking selfies, it was that they weren’t waiting for a more upbeat song to do so. “During their louder, upbeat numbers, you have all the time in the world to participate in these activities, but during their sacred ballads you should just shut up and listen,” said one fan. “Not asking much when very few are on theirs.” setlist.”
“How could someone talk during ‘Tin Man?’ It’s so moving,” one fan wrote. “This is one of those songs that got me through the most difficult times of my life. I couldn’t stop crying long enough to even hold my phone if I wanted to.”
Lambert’s outburst follows a series of incidents at various concerts where performers including Bebe Rexha, Ava Max and Kelsea Ballerini were hit on stage with phones and other objects. Miranda might want to take a cue from Garth Brooks’ book and announce a cell phone ban on her shows in the future.