US band The Killers apologise after inviting Russian fan on stage in Georgia
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People in the audience boo during a concert when The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers (left) invited a Russian fan on stage, on Aug 15.
PHOTOS: AFP, REUTERS
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Tbilisi – American rock band The Killers apologised on Wednesday after they invited a Russian fan on stage during a concert in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, drawing boos from the crowd.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022,
Moscow and Tbilisi went to war in 2008, and a fifth of Georgian territory has since been occupied by Russia-backed separatists.
In a video posted on social media, The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers can be seen inviting a fan on stage during a concert at an arena on Georgia’s Black Sea coast.
“This guy is a Russian. Are you okay with a Russian coming up here?” asks Flowers, prompting crowd members to respond with boos.
“You can’t recognise if someone’s your brother?” the 42-year-old continues.
Local media said some audience members left during the concert, which took place on Tuesday.
In a post on social media on Wednesday, The Killers said: “It was never our intention to offend anyone.
“We recognise 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 apologise.”
Organisers at the Black Sea Arena, where the concert was held, also apologised.
“We understand the emotions of our guests,” it said in comments after the show. “The act of the artiste on the stage is not the position of Black Sea Arena.”
Georgian rock band Loudspeakers, which played at the same concert as a warm-up act, said they were disappointed after the incident.
“Russia is an enemy and an occupier,” the band said in a social media post.
The Killers, who have been active for more than 20 years, shot to fame with the 2003 synth-rock hit Mr Brightside. AFP
