Billie Eilish stopped her set to help a struggling fan. As the moment went viral, fans thought she also appeared to shade Travis Scott, saying 'I wait for people to be okay before I keep going.'
Billie Eilish, 20, showed just how much she cares about her fans’ safety in a new clip from her Jan. 5 show in Atlanta. “Do you need to come out, or are you OK?” she said on-stage as she stopped the performance to check in on a fan — even instructing security to bring her an inhaler from backstage. Fans cheered as Billie sweetly reassured the fan she was “OK,” saying: “I wait for people to be okay before I keep going.” While she didn’t name Travis Scott, 30, fans online seemed to think she was referencing the Astroworld tragedy in Houston (notably, Travis apologized for continuing his show, unaware that a crowd crush was occurring).
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In the video posted by a Billie fan account, the singer paused her set when she appeared to notice a struggling fan in the crowd to stage right. “Do you need an inhaler?” she asked, clearly genuinely concerned about the fan’s safety. With an inhaler ready backstage, Billie made sure security got the device to the fan immediately, blew her a kiss, and mouthed “I love you,” all while making sure the fan could get space if she needed to, urging the audience softly but surely “Give her some time, don’t crowd.”
The fear of crowd-crush hits all too close to home these days after the tragic events at Travis Scott’s Nov. 2021 Astroworld Festival, when ten people died after the massive crowd of around 50,000 people surged towards the stage. The youngest and final victim, Ezra Blount, was only nine years old when he succumbed to his injuries after a week-long coma. The lack of intervention from Travis or his team during the events found the rapper heavy public criticism and multiple lawsuits.
Among the critics? Billie, who seemed to reference the incident on stage. After helping the fan, she stated, “I wait for people to be okay before I keep going” to mass applause. Many had criticized Travis for continuing his set even as audience members called out for help, pointing out that Travis once stopped a show to accuse a fan of stealing his shoes. However, Travis issued an apology where he said he was “devastated” and insisted he didn’t know what happened until after it was too late. The investigation remains on-going.
Billie, whose candid and real relationship with her fans has made her a superstar, proved she’s just as accessible at a stadium concert as she is goofing around on Saturday Night Live or opening up about her insecurities to Vanity Fair. Shade to Travis aside, Billie’s reaction to a fan in need stood out as an example of true showmanship; the artist cares about the experience of each and every fan!
