Panic! At The Disco Mobbed At Sydney Airport: 'I Couldn't Breathe'
"I was starting to feel very anxious and couldn't breathe."
Pop rock royalty Panic! At The Disco are in town for their first tour since Soundwave 2014, but it seems Sydney fans couldn't control their eagerness to see the band, allegedly mobbing the rockers at the airport and causing frontman Brendon Urie to suffer an anxiety attack.
As Popbuzz reports, large groups of fans surrounded the band and their crew at Sydney airport, closing in on the band and allegedly physically harassing them. Some fans on social media report Urie and bassist Dallon Weekes were even choked or grabbed by the neck.
However, Urie has cleared up conflicting reports in an attempt to stop the story being "blown out of proportion" in a Twitter statement.
"As we walked, we had our security and airport security asking people to move so we could make our way through the airport. I was being asked for selfies and signatures to which I replied "Yes, as long as we keep moving forward."
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"I remember them screaming in loud short bursts in my ear (maybe just trying to illicit a reaction). As it progressed I asked everyone who was on me to please move away as I was starting to feel very anxious and couldn't breathe.
"No one moved. I repeated this, but it only seemed to get worse."
Urie details that "an older man" then aggressively rammed into he and crew member Zack [Cloudhall].
"Zack used his arm to move the man but the man swung on Zack. Zack grabbed him and moved him away from us."
"After it had carried on for what seemed like an eternity in my own private hell, my instinct kicked in and I took off running. I don't recall being choked. No tears were shed. No one on our team was seriously hurt."
— Brendon Urie (@brendonurie) January 26, 2017
Cloudhall has also commented on the incident, stating, "Sorry but the bands [sic] safety and metal [sic] health are more important to me than anything else. We all love you guys and you are amazing but please be respectful."
I'm not telling you guys not to go to the airports. Just know we aren't going to stop. Also you may think you are just a few fans but what..
— Shadow (@ZackCloudHall) January 27, 2017
.. you forget are there are a lot of other people that think the same thing. So it's never just a fan or two. Sorry but the bands...
— Shadow (@ZackCloudHall) January 27, 2017
.. safety and metal health are more important to me than anything else. We all love you guys and you are amazing but please be respectful.
— Shadow (@ZackCloudHall) January 27, 2017
The incident didn't seem to stop the band from putting on a massive sold out show at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney last night, though Cloudhall was again forced to come out to ask fans to take it easy in the pit. Check out our review of the Sydney show last night here.
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