Hayley Williams Apologizes For Shaming Fighting Fans

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 28: Logan MacKenzie, Hayley Williams, and Joseph Mullen of Paramore perform during the 2023 Boston Calling Music Festival at Harvard Athletic Complex on May 28, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for Boston Calling)

Hayley Williams is apologizing for having two fans removed from a recent Paramore show.

The band recently played a sold-out show at New York’s Madison Square Garden and footage of Williams kicking the fans out went viral.

Hayley stops “Figure 8” at the @paramore show to yell at two fans who were fighting during the song pic.twitter.com/cjMAw9Nbtp

— Andrew Harts (@AndrewHarts) May 31, 2023

In the video, Williams can be seen saying, “Yes, I will embarrass both of you. Both of you need to find somewhere else to take care of that sh*t because that’s not happening here tonight, this is our house.”

The singer has since released a statement saying, “I am sorry for whatever shame or embarrassment I may have caused you. I do think it’s a worthy cause to set firm boundaries for how we want the environment at our shows to feel [and] maybe those two weren’t gonna get it any other way. But we should all try to imagine getting ridiculed and kicked out of a show in front of 10’s of thousands of people. When I saw their faces in the video, I didn’t see the smug smiles that some commenters criticized them for. I saw embarrassment and I cried for them. I’m telling you, I haven’t stopped thinking about it.”

Williams concluded by saying, ““I’m sorry that I handled the whole situation like the arbiter of the same type of cancel culture that doesn’t often teach or lead in any productive way.”