Morrissey was attacked on stage Saturday night during his performance at Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego. Just as he was preparing to do an encore following the performance, a group of concertgoers rushed the stage, one of which allegedly struck Morrissey in the face, as TMZ reports. Video footage of the incident shows the man hitting Morrissey, who quickly left the stage without returning as the assailant was dragged away by security.
Earlier this month, Morrissey performed his cover of the Pretenders‘ 1982 song “Back On the Chain Gang” on The Late Late Show with James Corden, notably while wearing a Morrissey shirt. He also recently contributed music to the new Jonah Hill-directed film Mid90s along with Trent Reznor ant Atticus Ross, who composed the score for the film. See footage of his San Diego performance below.
Update (2:30pm): Morrissey’s manager Peter Katsis has provided a statement on Facebook disputing claims that Morrissey was attacked by a fan. “Morrissey’s fans are not malicious. The fans were simply doing what they have been doing for almost 30 years. Trying anything they could do to jump onstage and touch him, or hug him,” the statement reads. “The fan in question was certainly more aggressive in reaching out for him than most, so security had to do their job and subdue the fan. That’s all it was.” Katsis also notes that “in the end no one was hurt, and no one was arrested.” The article has been updated to reflect this change. Read Katsis’ full statement below.
