A 15-year-old fan was severely injured and hospitalised after being urged by rapper Destroy Lonely to dive off a stage at a festival in Romania – find out more below.
The incident took place at the Beach, Please! festival in Costinesti, Romania, on July 11. The fan – known only as Nicolas – was attending with his mother, when he was pulled onstage to join Destroy Lonely. After singing and jumping around onstage for about a minute, Destroy Lonely reportedly told Nicolas to stage-dive off the high-rise stage to join his friends in the crowd, per Romanian news outlet The Observator.
Footage shows Nicolas looking apprehensive of jumping off such a height, but was allegedly coerced and pushed off stage by Destroy Lonely. Destroy Lonely can be heard saying onstage: “When this motherfucker drop, I need you to jump right back in there with your friends. Is you ready?”
Footage also shows Nicolas landing torso-first directly on a barricade before falling to the ground. Speaking to The Observator, Nicolas said Destroy Lonely’s performance proceeded as usual, but he received first aid from festival staff and was transported to the Constanţa County Hospital.
Nicolas has reportedly suffered a pulmonary contusion and lesions on the liver and one of his kidneys, and will require several weeks of rest and treatment to make a full recovery.
“When I fell, I thought I was dying,” Nicolas recalled of the incident to The Observator. “I had no more air, I ran out of air. I thought if I didn’t get help here, these would be my last moments.”
According to The Observator, Nicolas’ mother intends to file a complaint against Destroy Lonely. NME has reached out to Destroy Lonely for comment.
Following the incident, Beach, Please! co-founder Andrei Şelaru has said the festival will not book Destroy Lonely for performances again, and have implemented new safety rules, including banning fans from accessing the stage, “even if invited by the artist”.
Selaru said in a statement per the Romanian newspaper Adevarul: “We stand with the young man who suffered an injury [that] night, during a spontaneous moment spent on stage. We believe that the incident was caused by an irresponsible attitude of the artist who invited him on stage and urged him to jump. That is why, as of today, we have a new rule at the festival: no participant has access to the stage, even if invited by the artist.”
The festival has also issued the following statement to Pitchfork: “In the immediate aftermath of the incident involving a young man who was injured after jumping off the stage, Beach, Please! Festival took swift and concrete measures.”
“Our on-site medical teams intervened within seconds, providing immediate and professional care. The injured fan was promptly transported to the hospital, where he received the necessary treatment. We are relieved and grateful to report that he is now in stable condition, recovering well, and expected to make a full recovery. Throughout this time, we have remained in close contact with his family, offering our full support. His wellbeing continues to be our highest priority.”
“We fully respect the family’s privacy and will not be disclosing any contact details. Beyond medical assistance, we acted immediately to strengthen safety protocols. That very night, we implemented a strict no-access policy for fans on stage during any artist performance. This rule was promptly communicated to all artist teams, security providers, and production staff. Any breach of this policy will now carry immediate consequences.”
Other acts who performed at Beach, Please! this year included A$AP Rocky, 21 Savage, Yeat, Swae Lee, Young Thug, Rick Ross, Lil Tjay, Lil Pump and more. No other incidents were reported at the festival.
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