Billie Eilish brings her concert to a halt again over concern for fans' safety

vt-author-image

By Carina Murphy

Article saved!Article saved!

Billie Eilish has once again stopped a concert to make sure fans are okay.

The 20-year-old star was performing to a sold-out crowd at New York's Madison Square Garden on Friday (February 18) when she told fans to calm down and take a breather.

In footage from the concert, obtained by TMZ, Eilish can be seen taking a minute out from performing to reassure her audience. "If you want to sit down, you are allowed. Go ahead, sit down, take a breath," she told them.

The 'Bad Guy' singer then spoke to the front row, making sure no one was getting crushed against the stage. "Everybody down here, can you step back. Give everybody some room down here," she said calmly before resuming the show.

This is not the first time Eilish has looked out for fans' well-being during her concerts. Earlier this month, she made headlines when she paused her Happier Than Ever tour show in Atlanta to help get a breathless audience member an inhaler.

In footage from the event, she can be seen directing medics to the struggling concertgoer and urging others not to crowd them. She then waited until the fan said they were okay before recommencing her performance, telling the audience: "I wait for people to be OK until I keep going."

Many interpreted Eilish's words as a subtle dig at Travis Scott, who failed to stop the music when a massive crowd surge saw many audience members trampled at his Astroworld performance in November. The concert was declared a mass-casualty event by emergency respondents before Scott had even left the stage, and 10 people tragically lost their lives, with hundreds more injured.

wp-image-1263145905 size-full
Billie Eilish onstage in August 2019. Credit: Andy Gallagher / Alamy

Among those who accused Eilish of taking a dig at Scott was rapper Kanye West, who threatened to cancel his headlining act at Coachella 2022 if Eilish did not apologize, per The Independent.

She responded to his demands by commenting on his since-deleted Instagram post, saying: "Literally never said a thing about Travis. Was just helping a fan."

Featured Image Credit: INSTAR Images LLC / Alamy