During a recent Las Vegas performance, Miranda Lambert abruptly stops mid-song to call out a group of fans more concerned with taking selfies than watching the show.
Everybody sometimes gets annoyed by cell phones at concerts, 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 a group of concertgoers who were more focused on taking pictures than paying attention to the show.
“I’m gonna stop right here for a second; I’m sorry. These girls are worried about their selfie and not listening to the song. It’s pissing me off a little bit,” said Lambert as she gestured at a group near the stage. “I don’t like it. At all. We’re here to hear some country music tonight. I’m singing some country damn music.”
Miranda Lambert then began the song over again as fans cheered her on for speaking her mind. Several fans also reportedly walked out of the show after the interruption, although it isn’t clear if these were just the fans called out by the singer or if others left in solidarity.
The reactions to the incident on social media have varied from agreeing wholeheartedly with Lambert for speaking up to calling the singer’s behavior rude. “People paid to be there; they can do what they want,” wrote one person. “How much did they pay to stand right by the stage?”
Some fans argued that the issue wasn’t that fans were taking selfies but that they didn’t wait for a more upbeat song to do so. “There’s all the time in the world to partake in those activities during her rowdier, more up-tempo numbers, but during her sacred ballads, just shut up and listen,” said one fan. “Not exactly asking for much when there’s very few on her setlist.”
“How could anyone talk during ‘Tin Man’? It’s so moving,” wrote one fan. “This is one of those songs that have gotten me through the hardest 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 string of incidents in various concerts where artists, including Bebe Rexha, Ava Max, and Kelsea Ballerini, have been hit with phones and other objects while on stage. Miranda might like to take a page from Garth Brooks’ book and announce a no-cell phone policy at her shows in the future.