ENTERTAINMENT
Pharrell Williams Stops Music Festival Show Twice to Let Fallen Fans Out of the Crowd: ‘What We Do’
Pharrell Williams made sure ill fans were attended to during the second day of his Something in the Water Festival over the weekend
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 18: Pharrell performs at the 2022 Something in the Water Music Festival on Independence Avenue on June 18, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
Pharrell Williams is all about the safety and wellbeing of his fans.
The musician, 49, stopped his performance multiple times during the second day of the Something in the Water Festival on Saturday, after two fans apparently suffered medical emergencies.
In one video shared online by Fox 5 DC, Williams can be seen onstage with fellow artists No Malice and Pusha T as an overhead announcement asks attendees to help locate the fan in need of assistance.
D.C. Realtime News shared in a tweet that the concert event was later stopped once more after another patron fell ill. “@Pharrell stop[ped] the show to make sure this individual is attended to. Nothing but RESPECT for doing this,” they wrote.
After the event, Williams thanked fans “for taking care of each other” and shared a video of himself and the other artists onstage amid the break in performances. “Ain’t that what we do? We lift people up,” the “Happy” singer says in the clip.
Thank you for taking care of each other tonight, DC. See you tomorrow for Day 3 of #SITWFest @sitw #Juneteenth @PUSHA_T @NoMalice757 pic.twitter.com/jfp0mjjV5J
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) June 19, 2022
The incidents at the music festival in Washington D.C. come months after 10 concertgoers were killed following a crowd surge during Travis Scott’s set at the Astroworld Festival in Houston on Nov. 5.
In the time since, there has been a renewed focus on concert crowd safety, and stars like Billie Eilish, John Mayer and Doja Cat have stopped performances to ensure the wellbeing of audience members.
Eilish, 20, paused a show in Atlanta earlier this year to help a fan get access to an inhaler, while Mayer, 44, stopped a prior set at the Hollywood Palladium to allow medics access to a fan who appeared to have fainted.
Doja Cat, 26, meanwhile, also stopped a show of her own for nearly five minutes back in March when she helped an audience member get aid during her Lollapalooza Argentina set.
“I’m sorry, I can’t keep going if things aren’t good,” she said at the time. “I want to ask you guys a question. Does it matter that everybody here gets home safe? Right? Make noise if everybody who needs to get home safe needs to get home safe. Then you’re on my side, right? That’s all that matters.”
[via]
