The Killers are trying to set things right.
On Tuesday, the “Mr. Brightside” band angered concertgoers in Georgia’s port city of Batumi after inviting a Russian member of the audience onstage the play drums during a song.
After asking the crowd to welcome the Russian fan like a “brother,” lead singer Brandon Flowers and the band received boos and jeers, and many walkouts from offended Georgians.
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Georgia has long had a difficult relationship with Russia, which invaded the country in 2008, and currently occupies internationally recognized regions.
On Tuesday night, the band took to social media to apologize for offending fans, while attempting to clarify their intentions by the remarks.
“Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone!” the band said in the statement.
— The Killers (@thekillers) August 15, 2023
“We have a longstanding tradition of inviting people to play drums and it seemed from the stage that the initial response from the crowd indicated that they were okay with tonight’s audience participation member coming onstage with us,” the statement continued. “We recognize that a comment, meant to suggest that all of the Killers’ audience and fans are ‘brothers and sisters,’ could be misconstrued.
Finally, the band added, “We did not mean to upset anyone and we apologize. We stand with you and hope to return soon.”
Video posted to Twitter, captured the scene at the Black Sea Arena, where Flowers had attempted a dialogue with the crowd. While many did seem to applaud, many others booed both inside and outside the arena.
#Russia|n drummer at The Killers concert spoke about the Russian-#Georgia|n "friendship", which caused public protests pic.twitter.com/bVf7TMrFFw
— Mtavari TV (@MtavariChannel) August 15, 2023
“We don’t know the etiquette of this land but this guy’s a Russian. You OK with a Russian coming up here?” Flowers asked the audience at one point.
“You can’t recognize if someone’s your brother? He’s not your brother?” he later went on, appearing confused. “We all separate on the borders of our countries? Am I not your brother, being from America?”
Flowers urged the audience “that we’re here together”, adding that he didn’t want to see the concert “turn ugly”.
He added, “And I see you as my brothers and my sisters.”
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One concertgoer told Al Jazeera after the show, “It’s the story of a good concert gone wrong in Georgia.”
They continued, “When we started booing, the singer tried to educate us about brotherhood, saying we are all brothers and sisters. I am sorry, but as an artist, at least have the decency to know the political situation of a country you are performing in. Would you do that in Ukraine?”
The concertgoer also added, “And the audacity of a Russian guy to get up on stage and play in a country where he knows he is not welcomed is mind-blowing.”
Georgia has seen a large influx of Russians since the start of the invasion of Ukraine, with many fleeing being drafted into the Russian army to fight in the conflict.
