"Get Off of My Goddarn Stage, Bitch": Patti LaBelle Has Fan Ejected From Concert
Patti LaBelle is up to her old tricks: screaming at people. Last night at a concert in Vancouver, an audience member the diva had presumably invited to come dance onstage began unbuttoning his shirt. That wasn’t part of the deal Miss Patti had in her head, so she interrupted him and the music (“Lady Marmalade,” of course). “Don’t you dare, not on my stage!” she hollered. She explained with what initially seemed like good humor, “I am not Nicki Minaj or that little, uh, Miley.” The dancer took this as an opportunity to arch his back and present his ass to her. Here’s a tip: Do not arch your back and present your ass to Patti LaBelle.
“Get off of my goddarn stage, bitch,” said Miss Patti as her security dragged the guy from the stage “And stay off. Put him out of the building. Put him out! How dare you!” TMZ has the clip, and the dancer no longer has a head since Patti ordered off with it.
Once that man and his offensively loose buttons were gone, Patti continued:
I’m sorry I didn’t let my security do what he felt he had to do earlier. I believe in giving second and third and fourth chances, because I always say sometimes we know not what we do. Just so rude. A rude American or whoever he is, whatever he is. Don’t ever come in my face again. Next!
Engaging with a group of other fans who were onstage (presumably to share more of their talents while remaining clothed), Patti commented on the incident repeatedly. “The devil was here about 20 minutes ago, and I saw it, I tried to block it,” she said. And then: “I’m so sorry you heard me say a bad word. I’m so sorry. I’m a Gemini and things come out of my mouth sometimes that I try to control.”
But try as we might, some things are uncontrollable. The entire situation is uncannily reminiscent of one that happened September 14, 2007 in Kansas City, when she announced that a fan she had brought onstage to dance to (what else?) “Lady Marmalade” was dancing too close to her. “I think you want it more than I do,” he joked back and Patti LaBelle did not like that joke one bit. She scolded him for about three minutes:
“You’re rude! You’re very freakin’ rude!” she said, literally shaking her finger at him. “This is not Lil’ Kim, OK? I don’t play that. Do you know who I am?”
“You disrespect a black woman like that in front of people like this? How dare you! How dare you!” she said. The two incidents are so similar, it’s like she has a script and just updates the raunchy recording artists (“little heifers,” if you will) with whom she contrasts herself according to popular taste. In 2007, though, she had the offender (presumably another rude American) go back into the audience, only to bring him back up again so he could apologize to her. He did and they hugged.
The lesson here is: Do not try Patti LaBelle. Even if you think you’re so cute and funny, just don’t. Take no risks when on her stage. This is a woman who paid dearly for scaring a child. Patti LaBelle will shame you. She will call you rude. She will say, “How dare you?” She may even ask, “Do you know who I am?” Patti LaBelle does not give a fuck, until she really, really does.
[Image via Getty]