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A concertgoer ended up with stitches after attending Dua Lipa's Radical Optimism show on Sunday, November 24.
The man, only identified by his Reddit handle, shared the experience on the social networking site. "I got hit in the head by some pyrotechnical metal tube at Dua Lipa's concert in Malaysia today," he wrote, along with a censored image of himself in the hospital. He noted that the injury occurred just 15 minutes into the performance.
He shared the first post from the hospital as he waited for a CT scan. As commenters shared their support on his post, he periodically checked in with updates, letting everyone know he required seven stitches and a tetanus shot, but thankfully did not have a skull fracture.
The concertgoer said he had purchased tickets as close to the stage as he could go, as he was trying to cheer himself up after a period of depression. Not long after the performance began, he said he felt a heavy blow to his head from a large metal tube, which he believes was a pyrotechnic cannon that was shooting confetti into the air. He recalled feeling something sticky on his head, which turned out to be blood.
"My wife saw it and immediately called the security for help. By then, my head wouldn't stop bleeding, and it kept dripping all the way until we got to the ambulance backstage," he told World Of Buzz. "They took me and another woman, who was also injured by the metal tube after it ricocheted from my head, to the hospital."
Initially he wrote on Reddit that a stadium employee from the Axiata Arena where the performance was held had said "that they will not compensate anything except medical bills." He later gave an update about his hospital visit, saying two men had come to talk to him about reimbursing him for his hotel, concert tickets, and flight. However, he told them, "I'm not ready to talk about that, and need to talk to my embassy, lawyer, and maybe police."
After he showed them his Reddit post, he said the men paid for his hospital bills. He said they asked him to hide his post after they paid, but he refused. The injured man said the woman who also went to the hospital for a similar injury was offered compensation in the form of a sum of money, though the amount was not disclosed.
He shared pictures of his hospital bills, as well as a bloody photo of the stitches in his head. The man joked, "No good deed left unpunished," explaining that he had switched places with a couple from Chicago because he was taller than them.
The man, who is from Russia, said he plans to visit the Russian embassy to figure out what his next steps should be. He clarified in the subreddit that despite the injury, "I don't wanna ruin Dua Lipa's reputation," as it wouldn't be fair.
However, he did say that he wanted "fair compensation" for what had happened to him. "I just want my fair compensation for near death experience ('lucky' me — this 5-7 kg tube didn't fell by sharp side on me)," he wrote.
The incident comes after the "Houdini" singer was forced to cancel her November 9 show at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta due to "unforeseen safety and logistical issues." A statement shared to her website at the time explained that her team made "diligent efforts to resolve critical production issues related to the stage structure provided by Mata Elang Productions" but it was deemed "not safe for the performance to carry on."
The 29-year-old performer also shared her own statement to social media, telling fans how "heartbroken" she was that she wouldn't be able to perform.
Dua Lipa, who has yet to respond to the incident, continues on with her Radical Optimism tour, next taking the stage on November 27 in Bangkok, Thailand.
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