Idol's McCreery Halts Show, Calls Out Guy Who Hit Woman

Singer apparently witnessed assault during Colorado show, calls alleged perp a 'coward'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 28, 2024 7:21 AM CDT
Idol's McCreery Halts Show, Calls Out Guy Who Hit Woman
Scotty McCreery performs on May 7, 2022, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.   (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)

American Idol winner Scotty McCreery stopped at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo over the weekend to perform for fans who love his style of country—and who also love him now for standing up for one of his fans, who was allegedly assaulted as he performed. In a video shot Saturday by attendee Jessica Rosario, the 30-year-old performer is shown launching into "It Matters to Her," a song he said is his wife's favorite, but he only got a few words out before he stopped strumming his guitar and pointed into the audience in front of him.

"Hey hey hey hey hey!" McCreery said in alarm. "Right here, right here, that's a lady you just hit, sir! Absolutely not—who just hit the lady? Police? Security? Is she OK? Get the heck out of here!" McCreery continued to stand at the edge of the stage, peering into the darkness of the audience, as the crowd booed the alleged perp. Once it appeared things down below had been cleared up, McCreery called it "absolutely unacceptable" and added, "Whoever you are, that's the definition of a coward, hitting a lady," before picking back up where he left off in his song.

EW.com notes it's not clear if anyone was arrested, though fair officials verified that something had indeed happened during McCreery's performance. "We can confirm that an incident took place ... where a man assaulted a woman and the performer stopped the show," a rep for the Colorado Department of Agriculture said. "Colorado State Fair security assisted with crowd control. This incident is still under investigation and we cannot comment further." Security officials say anyone with footage or other information about the incident should contact them at csf.security@state.co.us. (More Scotty McCreery stories.)

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