Luke Bryan Was Hit in the Face with an Object While Performing — and Fans Say ‘Shame on Whoever Did This’

NEED TO KNOW

• Luke Bryan got hit in the face with an object during his performance at the North Dakota State Fair

• Despite the mishap, the country star briefly stared into the crowd and ultimately handled the incident “like a champ”

• Other stars such as Kelsea Ballerini, Morgan Wallen and Billie Eilish have encountered thrown objects during concerts in recent years

Luke Bryan was apparently playing the hits during a set in North Dakota.

According a fan video shared to TikTok from Bryan’s Saturday, July 26, show at the North Dakota State Fair, the country star was hit in the face with an object while performing the chorus of his song “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).”

Bryan, 49, handled the interruption like a pro. He appeared confused for a moment after getting hit in the face by what appeared to be a small plush ball while singing and stared into the audience. However, he was able to finish his 2011 song without issue.

“Poor @Luke Bryan got hit in the face during his encore 😅 carried on like a champ though,” the fan captioned their TikTok.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Fans were quick to chime in on the incident in the comments section. “There is no excuse for this,” one person wrote. “Shame on whoever did this,” another said. “Who throws something at someone they paid to see?” a third questioned.

“Luke Bryan got hit but kept on rockin much respect” someone else said of his poise during the moment.

Bryan is no stranger to onstage mishaps. In a May 2024 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the American Idol judge joked about his clumsiness during shows after the host played a compilation of Bryan falling.

Bryan attributed one fall to water on the stage before addressing what usually leads to his lack of grace. “You check the comments on the fans talking about the fall, and there’s nine out of 10 comments that point to me being drunk.”

However, Bryan said, that’s not the case despite “the content of the songs alludes to drinking.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“I’m 6’2”. I’m up there trying to do Michael Jackson moves in too big of a frame, and when you add water to a stage and slick cowboy boots, you go down hard,” Bryan explained. “It’s not alcohol, fans. People are assuming — you can’t just drink a bottle of vodka and go do a two-hour show.”

The country star said he is “real active on stage,” which sometimes results in falling.

“Somehow I have dodged injury, and I can’t predict when it will happen again. I got really — there was about four in a row, like it was North Carolina only, so people were assuming I was drinking moonshine, but that wasn’t it,” concluded Bryan.

Unfortunately, many other performers have been hit in the face with objects during concerts.

In July 2023, Kelsea Ballerini was hit in the eye with a bracelet during a concert in Idaho. In June 2024, Morgan Wallen had a thong thrown at him during a show in Minneapolis.

More recently, Billie Eilish was hit in the face with an object during a show in Arizona in December 2024.

Read the original article on People