Adam Levine Being Grabbed By A Fan Proves The Importance Of Consent, Regardless Of Gender
When people go out to a concert or a nightclub, they expect to be entertained. But these venues can be environments where people are sometimes assaulted, and the topic of "consent" is often from a female perspective. But recent events have shown the man's view is often underlooked, but just as important.
A now-viral TikTok of Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine is an important lesson that regardless of gender or fame, no one has the right to touch someone else without their consent.
Consent Is Key
With the recent Me Too movement, strides have been made when it comes to women's rights. One of the most important aspects of this revolution is the concept of "consent".
But whether you're a woman at a nightclub or a male celebrity, the importance of consent cannot be understated. That's something Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine, unfortunately, experienced during a recent concert in Los Angeles.
The TikTok
Video of the incident was shared by Luis Peñaloza, also known as @luispenaloza9525 on TikTok, and it's since gone viral with over 10 million views and nearly 885,000 likes. The video itself is only 10 seconds long, but it speaks volumes.
Peñaloza captioned the video with, "Adam Levine was a whole mood yesterday."
A Saturday Night Concert
The incident occurred in Los Angeles on October 23 while the band was performing at the 8th annual "We Can Survive" concert, put on by Audacy at the Hollywood Bowl.
Entertaining a full audience, during their performance of the song "Sunday Morning," things took an unexpected turn for the lead singer.
The Incident
A YouTube video of the performance shows a female fan sneaking through the concert crowd before climbing onto the stage from the far left. Taken from up close and further back in the venue, both videos show the woman jumping up on stage before grabbing Levine's arm and hugging him.
The singer looks visibly shocked and uncomfortable and mouths the word "F-k!" before walking across the stage and trying to physically shake off the incident.
Levine's Immediate Reaction
The videos depict the fan being physically removed by security, while the YouTube video shows Levine then walking across the stage before pushing over a microphone. After walking to the opposite end of the stage, Levine finishes singing "Sunday Morning".
The last part of the TikTok is captioned, "Adam Levine was not having it."
He Needs To Be "Humble"
Following the posting of Peñaloza's TikTok, some users were critical of Levine saying that his disgusted reaction was inappropriate and that he appeared to think he was better than the female fan. Other users said he needs to act humble.
"He doesn't value his fans," one user wrote. "Celebrities are nothing [without their] fans."
Levine Responds To The Criticism
Levine broke his silence on his Instagram story a few days later. He said the incident had "startled" him, and his reaction was due to wanting to move on and do his job, clarifying that it was not indicative of thinking fans are "beneath" him.
"I have always been someone that loves, respects, worships our fans. Without our fans, we don't have a job," he said according to People Magazine. "I need to let you guys know what my heart is, and my heart is that connection that exists between the band performing on stage and the fans. I hope that we can all understand that."
Double Standards
The TikTok went mega-viral, and many users quickly came to Levine's defense saying that the singer did nothing wrong. They said Levine's reaction was appropriate and that a double standard exists in that had it been a male fan who grabbed a female singer, no one would criticize her for her reaction.
"How about we stop defending people touching other people without consent," one user commented.
