Billie Eilish Halts Atlanta Concert for Fan, “We’re Taking Care of Our People”

Pop superstar and “Therefore I Am” singer/songwriter Billie Eilish has finally kicked off her Happier Than Ever tour. After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the 20-year-old artist started her tour with a high-energy concert in New Orleans, Louisiana, at the Smoothie King Center.

Just a few days after her tour debut, though, Eilish was performing at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena when she abruptly stopped her concert.

Eilish halted her performance when she noticed that a fan in the pit was struggling to breathe. The music was paused as Eilish called for her team to bring an inhaler to the concert-goer. “Relax, relax, it’s OK,” Eilish told the rest of the concert-goers. “We’re taking care of our people, hold on.”

“I wait for people to be OK until I keep going,” Eilish said to the crowd. She continued to address the concert-goers, pleading them not to crowd each other, especially the fan who was given an inhaler. Continuing to care for her fans, the pop sensation reminded the audience to let someone know if they needed assistance during the concert.

Undoubtedly, Eilish was thinking of the tragedy of Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival when she saw her fan struggling. In November of 2021, 10 festival-goers died of compression asphyxia as a result of the crowd surges at the Astroworld festival. Since that tragedy, performers of all genres have been increasingly vigilant about their fan’s safety at concerts.

Photo by Kelia Anne MacCluskey.