We here at WGTC have been nothing if not uniform in our stance: We do not condone the throwing of microphones at anyone. “We use our words, not our AV equipment,” that’s what we always say.
Yet despite the positive example that we’ve set literally every day of our lives, acclaimed performing artist Cardi B made the regrettable decision to chuck a wireless mic at an audience member in Las Vegas during her concert on Saturday. It was, according to the court of public opinion, a whole thing.
Why did Cardi B throw her mic at the audience during the Las Vegas concert?
The facts are these:
- On Saturday, July 29th, 30-year-old rapper Cardi B was performing at the outdoor concert venue Drai’s Beachclub in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- The song: “Bodak Yellow.”
- The dress: Tangerine orange.
- The incident that incited the crowd to start throwing water at her: She asked the audience to start throwing water at her.
At least that’s what video footage shared on TikTok showed. The Grammy-winning artist requested that her fans “splash her down,” which the crowd proceeded to do. An indeterminate amount of time later, a front-row audience member threw more water at the performer, who responded by overhand-chucking her mic at the person. The audience member was then escorted away from the area by security.
What can we learn from this event? Well, as consent is a powerful and vital instrument in the social contract, it’s important to remember that it works in both directions. Cardi B has every right to want to be splashed with water one minute, then prefer not to the next. In equal measure, audience members deserve the right to decide when they will and will not be pelted with a half-pound rod of metal sound equipment.
But this is not the only mic-throwing incident that has Cardi B’s name in the headlines as less than 24 hours before the above-mentioned incident, she threw her mic at a DJ in a Vegas club.
What caused Cardi B to lash out at the DJ?
As revealed in the many videos shared on TikTok and Twitter showing Cardi B throwing a microphone at a DJ in Drai’s Beach Club in Las Vegas, the rapper was driven to the brash action after the DJ cut off many of her songs early. Too extreme or was she justified in her actions? Maybe. Or maybe she just likes throwing microphones. Maybe this is an extension of that tweet from back in June where she complained that “having everything GETS BORING,” and now she’s cutting back on her material possessions, one handheld mic at a time.
While we can’t say with certainty who deserves the brunt of the blame in either scenario, the former does serve as a stark reminder of the way too many incidents of artists being pelted with often injury-causing items during their concerts, like Bebe Rexha who had to get stitches in June when someone from the audience threw a phone at her head.