Singer Ari Lennox may be recognized as a soft-spoken artist, but she recently made it clear that she is not one to be played with.
The Washington, D.C., native opened for rapper Rod Wave during the Los Angeles stop of his “Nostalgia Tour” on Wednesday, Nov. 29. While Lennox was onstage, she played a game where she asked audience members to repeat positive self-affirmations.
“Say I am sexy,” she spoke out to the audience, who did as she said. She continued instructing the crowd to describe themselves as “smart,” “confident,” and more. As her game came to an end Lennox began performing her hit song, “Pressure.”
However, things quickly took a turn for the worse after a water bottle came flying across the stage, nearly hitting the NAACP Image Award nominee.
Once the bottle landed on the elevated platform, an unhappy Lennox made it her mission to find the culprit. “B—h,” she shouted. “Don’t f—–g play with me.”
She then instructed her DJ to stop the music before stating, “I will f–k you up. Who did it?”
Lennox continued asking for the offender to reveal themself, stating that she would “F–k your a– up.” A security guard soon appeared on stage seemingly trying to alleviate the situation but Lennox was already prepared to give an audience member a beatdown by the time he made his presence known.
“I don’t play that. I’m a real a– b—h, and I will f–k your s–t all the way the f–k up,” said Lennox.
As cheers came from the audience, Lennox continued threatening whoever threw the water bottle, stating, “Don’t you ever disrespect a beautiful Black woman on a f—–g stage like that. I will f——g f–k you up! That’s the f–k right. Who did it, b—h?”
The video of Lennox’s explosive rant managed to find a spot on The Neighborhood Talk’s Instagram page. Per their upload, the 32-year-old appeared to have identified the culprit and demanded them to “Come here, b—h.”
She added, “Come here, let’s do it! Come here b—h, you a p—y! That’s right. You could never even be as good as a p—y! That’s right! That’s right b—h, you’re dumb. You’re weak!” Her microphone soon cuts out and she’s escorted off of the stage.
Fortunately for Lennox, many social media users rallied to her defense. One person wrote, “& she’s WELL within her rights because who tf raised some of y’all? What do you get out of throwing things at people you paid to see?! S–t is CRAZY!”
Another person stated, “I hate when y’all try Ari. She don’t be bothering nobody.”
This isn’t the first time artists have gone off on concertgoers for tossing things on stage. A few other female musicians who fell victim to these antics include rappers Cardi B, Latto, Rico Nasty, and pop star Bebe Rexha.
It is currently unclear what prompted fans to start behaving this way, but it’s apparent that celebrities are not finding this recent trend amusing.
