When you're a popular male performer, there are times where some of your fans, particularly those who find themselves in the front row of your shows, might try and cop a feel. That kind of action, while definitely inappropriate, is something that happens more often than most might think. Just look at someone like Trey Songz, who has been repeatedly fondled by female fans at his concerts, much to the delight of the other women in attendance. Recently, you had the case of former One Direction singer Harry Styles, where a fan was accused of groping the pop star while he was playing a breast cancer awareness benefit in Los Angeles. You can watch footage of the incident, courtesy of The Telegraph, below.
The #RespectHarry hashtag was trending on Twitter after the fact, with many fans calling for more respect to be shown for his personal space. Now, R&B star Khalid is weighing in on the situation and had a succinct message for his fans: if you come see me live, stay away from the crotch area. In a short interview that he gave to TMZ, the American Teen artist was firm about his stance on the fan fondling issue. In his mind, it's nowhere near okay for any concertgoer to be pulling that kind of stunt.
"I think it's definitely inappropriate," Khalid said of the Styles incident. "I feel like, as a performer, you do your best job to make everybody happy, and I feel like he got taken advantage of. He's such a nice guy." He added that, man or woman, no one deserves to be disrespected that way, especially when you're there to do the job of entertaining thousands of people. When asked if it's a difference in eras, with the stadium rock days of openly touching and/or grabbing singers who were on stage long gone, that have led to this current attitude, Khalid replied that it's more about respect and being aware of other people's boundaries. "Hugging is okay," he stated later on, but after gesturing to his crotch area, he said that anything below the belt was "off limits."
What do you think? Is that kind of touching from a fan crossing the line? Let us know.