Tim McGraw helped members of his stage crew eject a fan from his Tuesday night (June 24) concert in Auburn, Wash., after seeing the man assault a woman who was in one of the front rows. A video of the incident surfaced Wednesday at several Internet sites.
McGraw was performing his 1994 hit, "Indian Outlaw," when he stopped singing and yelled, "Get rid of this guy! Security!" At that point, McGraw knelt down and began pulling the man onstage. Members of his stage crew showed up immediately to assist McGraw.
Ernest Jasmin, pop music writer for the The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., described the incident in a blog posted on the newspaper's Web site.
"It wasn't immediately clear from where I was sitting that the encounter was hostile as McGraw struggled to pull this big boy onstage, nearly ripping the fan's 'wifebeater' T-shirt in the process before he and a couple of roadies successfully dragged the guy up and sent him reeling. The disoriented heckler got to his feet and took a couple of menacing steps toward McGraw with hand raised, prompting the country singer (not a small guy, for the record) to cock his own fist before crew members grabbed the would-be attacker and escorted him forcibly offstage."
The band played throughout the encounter. Ironically, when McGraw returned to singing the song, he began with the line that began, "I'm not lookin' for trouble."
In his blog, Jasmin wrote, "And to the country star's credit, he jumped right back into the groove without missing a beat, as smoothly as if the scuffle was a planned part of the show."
In a prepared statement, McGraw's Nashville-based publicist, Jessie Schmidt said, "While Tim was performing at the White River Amphitheater in Auburn, Wash., last night, he watched a man rush to the front of the stage. This overly aggressive fan attacked a female fan, and Tim witnessed this incident. Tim called for security, but when they could not respond quick enough, Tim and several crew members removed the fan from the audience where he was then turned over to the local authorities."
McGraw was performing his 1994 hit, "Indian Outlaw," when he stopped singing and yelled, "Get rid of this guy! Security!" At that point, McGraw knelt down and began pulling the man onstage. Members of his stage crew showed up immediately to assist McGraw.
Ernest Jasmin, pop music writer for the The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., described the incident in a blog posted on the newspaper's Web site.
"It wasn't immediately clear from where I was sitting that the encounter was hostile as McGraw struggled to pull this big boy onstage, nearly ripping the fan's 'wifebeater' T-shirt in the process before he and a couple of roadies successfully dragged the guy up and sent him reeling. The disoriented heckler got to his feet and took a couple of menacing steps toward McGraw with hand raised, prompting the country singer (not a small guy, for the record) to cock his own fist before crew members grabbed the would-be attacker and escorted him forcibly offstage."
The band played throughout the encounter. Ironically, when McGraw returned to singing the song, he began with the line that began, "I'm not lookin' for trouble."
In his blog, Jasmin wrote, "And to the country star's credit, he jumped right back into the groove without missing a beat, as smoothly as if the scuffle was a planned part of the show."
In a prepared statement, McGraw's Nashville-based publicist, Jessie Schmidt said, "While Tim was performing at the White River Amphitheater in Auburn, Wash., last night, he watched a man rush to the front of the stage. This overly aggressive fan attacked a female fan, and Tim witnessed this incident. Tim called for security, but when they could not respond quick enough, Tim and several crew members removed the fan from the audience where he was then turned over to the local authorities."