The 27-year-old man charged for intentionally throwing a cell phone at singer Bebe Rexha during her New York City concert allegedly said he did it as a joke, according to a criminal complaint.
The pop singer was hit above the eye by a hurled cell phone that came from the audience at her June 18 show on the Rooftop at Pier 17. Disturbing video of the incident shows the launched phone hitting Rexha, causing her to fall to the floor before being escorted off stage by her team. She was later rushed to a local hospital, leaving her with a wound that required multiple stitches.
New York Police were notified of the assault and a preliminary investigation “determined that a 27-year-old male intentionally threw a cell phone” at Rexha. Nicolas Malvagna was later identified as the culprit and was taken into custody on the scene and arrested while EMS removed Rexha to a hospital.
He was charged with two counts of assault in the third degree, as well as one count of harassment in the second degree, one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree and a count of attempted assault in the third degree, according to an updated report by Rolling Stone.
The publication also shared Malvagna’s alleged confession: “I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny,” he was quoted saying by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
Fans have rallied around the singer online, supporting her through her recovery — she had to receive stitches above her eye — and started a conversation surrounding concert etiquette.
Widely shared footage of the incident showed the singer falling to her knees after the flying cell struck her about the eye near the end of the show. Rexha took it in stride, posting a pic of her bruised face on Monday morning with the caption, “I’m good.”
ned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram/p/CtrQQLDuoV3/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14">A post shared by Bebe Rexha (@beberexha)
Rexha is scheduled to visit the Fillmore in Philadelphia on Tuesday as part of her “Best F’n Night of My Life Tour.” The U.S. trek is her second-ever solo headlining tour and her first since 2017.
