Riley Green received five stitches in his ear after a phone whacked him in the head during a performance.
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The incident occurred on Saturday, March 14, at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Australia. When it happened, Green said, "Damn, am I bleeding? Y'all see how tough I am?"
Security quickly removed the person who threw the phone. Green then asked the crowd to get their phones out and help him finish the song "I Wish Grandpa's Never Died."
He said, "Do me a favor right here, get your phones out, and you can turn the flashlight on, just don't throw it at me."
Looking back on the incident, Green shared that the situation could have turned out very differently.
Riley Green Said He Was "Shocked" at First
When speaking with Nick Riewoldt on the radio show Mick in the Morning, Green downplayed the incident, saying it had "gotten talked about quite a bit" since it all went down. Then the singer shared what was going through his mind when the fan's phone met his face.
"The first thing was just kind of shock," he said. "Whatever hit me, I didn't realize what it was to start with. I think your initial reaction is sort of, kinda angry, shocked, whatever. I pretty quickly kind of realized what had happened, got them to cut the house lights on, and figured out who had done it."
Green Considered Dealing With the Fan Himself
Green then shared how he initially wanted to handle the situation. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed.
"I guess my first thought was probably to go down there and deal with it," he said. "As a performer, you have a lot of things thrown at you, and I think, man, there's so many people that are here that know how to act, that are excited to see the show and everything. And I didn't want to ruin anything for anybody else."
He added, "So security got rid of the guy, obviously with your help a little by pointing him out to me... if I'm being honest, I don't know if I've looked any cooler playing 'I Wish Grandpa's Never Died' with blood streaming down my neck. So it's not that bad."
