Fiona Apple was ninety minutes into a concert at the Newmark Theater in Portland last night when the collective good vibe spun south in a hurry. Someone in the crowd yelled something about her appearance. Apple demanded the person be thrown out, and she plowed through one more song before tearfully leaving the stage. Now both fans who read about the incident and those who were there are fiercely divided about what happened.
By most accounts, Apple was looking a little thin when she arrived on stage and even behaving a little strangely. According to Stereogum, that caused more than a few concertgoers to grow concerned, but after a half dozen or so songs, many in the crowd settled in, though not the shouter in question. During a lull in the action, she reportedly screamed, “Get healthy! We want to see you in ten years.” In response, Apple demanded the house lights be turned on and the woman kicked out. On her way out, the anonymous concerned party/ heckler reportedly shouted, “I saw you twenty years ago, and you were beautiful.”
At some point during her final song “Waltz (Better Than Fine)”, Apple supposedly started crying. Afterwards, she went on a rant, apologized to the crowd and left. Given she’d sung for a full ninety minutes, it’s not as if the audience didn’t get its money’s worth, but it certainly cast an ugly cloud over the entire evening. So, instead of happy memories, many went home with strange ones.
Apple has never been a woman opposed to getting goofy or even to following her heart. She once cancelled a series of concerts to be with her dying dog; so, it’s not surprising she’d hit a range of emotions while on stage. To some, however, what happened last night fell well outside the bounds of acceptable audience/ performer banter. They seem to think the random woman should be ashamed of herself for screaming at Apple about her appearance. To others, however, what happened shouldn’t even be considered heckling because it was clearly said with the best of intentions by one of her true fans.
What do you think? Are you okay with what this heckler shouted? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
This poll is no longer available.
For more questions of the day, head here
