Patron attacks Capleton on stage during US show
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Dancehall artiste Capleton was physically abused while performing at Reggae on the Hills at Calaveras County Fairgrounds Angels Camp in California last week.
A video, posted on YouTube, shows a longhaired male patron finding his way on stage twice during the artiste’s performance.
In the second instance, the 46 year-old Rastafarian artiste was shoved by the patron who was quickly restrained and forcibly removed from the stage. The artiste continued his set.
It was unclear what motivated in the attack.
The Jamaica Observer Tuesday spoke with the deejay’s manager Claudette Kemp who dismissed any notion that the attack could be attributed to Capleton’s stance on gays.
“It was a musician who had access to the stage, he seemed to be totally out of it,” she said.
According to Kemp when the patron was later told what he did and asked why, he didn’t have a recollection of the incident.
“He said, ‘me, I could never do such a thing’,” Kemp said adding that the attacker “wasn’t in his right mind.”
“It was a lovely, lovely event, we do not want to mar this event with any lies,” Kemp said.
She also said that the promoter apologised for the incident.
Recently, reggae pioneer Toots Hibbert — frontman for the group Toots and the Maytals — was hit in the head with a bottle while performing in Richmond, Virginia.
The entertainer received several stitches while the offender was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.
— Cecelia Campbell-Livingston