Unfortunately, audience skirmishes seemingly come with the territory for live performers. For example, country star Miranda Lambert has rearranged her entire setlist in anticipation of girl fights. Recently, CMA Award-winning artist Riley Green found himself playing referee when a scuffle broke out between two women during a stop along his Damn Country Music Tour. And the “Jesus Saves” crooner handled it expertly, even shelling out some free beauty advice.
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Riley Green Had to Break Up a Fight Not Once, But Twice
Performing for a sold-out crowd Thursday (Aug. 7) at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida, Riley Green launched into his rendition of Toby Keith’s 2002 patriotic anthem “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American.)” Fan-captured video footage shows what unfolded next.
As he approaches the final verse, commotion in the crowd apparently catches his eye. Putting the show on pause, Green adopts the tone of a battle-weary parent as he says, “Hey listen, if y’all want to fight, let’s wait till we get done singing about America. We’ll all go out back and beat the s— out of each other. But just for a minute, we can unite.”
With the crowd seemingly on board, the “Worst Way” singer, 36, resumes his performance. However, he only manages to get through about two bars before realizing the problem has not, in fact, been solved.
“Well, we haven’t got it figured out yet, hang on,” Green says. “We were close. I thought we united for a second.”
“Hey listen, y’all got too many extensions to be fighting like that, “the Alabama native says, directly addressing the offenders as he walks toward the front of the stage. “Y’all gonna pull everything out. Listen. What’s the problem?”
He Kept His Eye On Them
After verifying that the fight was indeed over, Riley Green continued, “All right, well just stay right there and enjoy yourselves. This will be fun.”
Still, he wasn’t completely relaxing his guard. “I think I’m going to stay right here like a parent-teacher conference, keep an eye on y’all,” Green said. He did just that as he finished out the song with no interruptions.
Ultimately, the fans were allowed to stay for the rest of the show — which likely means the “I Wish Grandpas Never Died” singer’s reprimand hit its mark.
“The way I would immediately leave after the extensions comment,” remarked one fan on TikTok. “You’d never see me again.”
Featured image by Scott Legato/Getty Images
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