Ari Lennox has finally opened up about that viral moment when an audience member threw a bottle at her on stage. Lennox was the opening act for Rod Wave’s Nostalgia tour last year, and in an Instagram live she said she struggled with finding acceptance from the audience during her sets.
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“I was never comfortable,” she explained. “I just remember every show, just racing to get off stage.”
Lennox’s approach to performing is calming, soulful music filled with affirmations for the audience to say with her. However, the Wave’s crowd was less than interested, she said—angry, even.
“When I realized they were getting angry at me affirming them, I was like ‘Okay, this is not my crowd, and it will never be,’ It was tough and it was heavy on my soul feeling that energy especially the day when the bottle happened,” she said.
At the November show, Lennox led the audience in affirmations, encouraging them to repeat things such as, “I am sexy, I’m smart, I’m confident as f*ck.” Those type of affirmations are what led to her 2021 hit single, “Pressure.” As the DMV native swayed across the stage and sang the first line of the song, a bottle flew only a few feet in front of her.
Instead of continuing the song and allowing security to handle the situation, Lennox stopped the performance completely and went off on the crowd.
“B*tch, don’t f*cking play with me. Who the f*ck did it? I’ll f*ck your a** up! I’m a real a** b*tch and I will f*ck your sh*t all the way up! Don’t you ever disrespect a beautiful Black woman!” said Lennox, pointing in the direction where the bottle came from.
In August, Ari opened up about her sobriety journey and learning to regulate her emotions. Longtime fans of the “Shea Butter Baby” singer know that she is famous for her clapbacks and hotheaded moments on the internet. However, all bets seemed to be off when it comes to bottles flying.
In 2023, Lennox wasn’t the only artist who went off on their audience for bad behavior. Cardi B threw her mic at an audience member and Latto told somebody, “I’ll beat your a**.” And then there was Anita Baker.
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