American alternative-rock band The Killers brought a Russian drummer on stage at a Tuesday concert in the country of Georgia — and audience members reacted with a chorus of boos, whistles, and raised middle fingers.
What are the details?
Reuters reported that Georgia has a “long history of tension” with neighboring Russia which has increased since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — not to mention issues caused by the influx of Russians escaping into Georgia since then.
Lead singer Brandon Flowers was captured on video telling the crowd in Batumi, “We don’t know the etiquette of this land. … This guy’s a Russian. Are you okay with a Russian coming up here?”
The crowd answered with noise but apparently without any noticeable booing — which nevertheless soon commenced.
Soon Flowers asked the angry crowd, “You finished yet or no?”
He then loudly asked, “You can’t recognize that someone’s your brother? He’s not your brother?”
The booing only grew more intense.
“No, he’s not your brother?” Flowers asked, challenging the crowd. “We all separate on the borders of our countries? … So I’m not your brother? Am I not your brother, being from America?”
Reuters said a video from the Russian state RIA news agency shows Flowers telling the booing crowd, “I see you as my brothers and my sisters.”
The outlet added that social media videos showed people leaving the show and that Georgian public opinion is “overwhelmingly pro-Ukrainian.”
Watch: The Killers introduce a Russian fan on stage at a concert in Georgiayoutu.be
Rapid response mea culpa
It didn’t take long for The Killers to apologize. Here’s what they posted on Facebook:
“Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone! We have a longstanding tradition of inviting people to play drums and it seemed from the stage that the initial response from the crowd indicated that they were okay with tonight’s audience participation member coming onstage with us. We recognize that a comment, meant to suggest that all of The Killers’ audience and fans are ‘brothers and sisters,’ could be misconstrued. We did not mean to upset anyone and we apologize. We stand with you and hope to return soon.”
Anything else?
As is the case with most artists of his ilk, Flowers seems to lean fully left. In 2020 — at the height of the Black Lives Matter-Antifa rioting in America’s streets following the death of George Floyd — Flowers talked about getting politics into the band’s music and his disdain for then-President Donald Trump, who he hoped would lose the upcoming election.
“I’ve got my fingers crossed for Joe Biden, but I’m also frustrated,” Flowers said at the time. “I continue to see that Trump has quite a loyal group of supporters. As unfathomable as that is, it’s true.”
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