Machine Gun Kelly Confronts Man Who Rushed Stage at Forbes Summit: ‘Get the F— Away From Me’
Machine Gun Kelly didn’t miss a beat when a man rushed the stage during his Forbes Under 30 Summit panel.
The pop-punk artist and entrepreneur, whose real name is Colson Baker, was speaking with Forbes editor Kristin Stoller at a packed Cleveland auditorium when someone entered the stage and approached him from behind. MGK leaped up mid-sentence and clenched his fists to confront the man, saying, “My man, get the fuck away from me. Yo, what are you doing? What are you doing? This is a bad look. Don’t make me do this.”
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While the unidentified man did not make physical contact with MGK, he said softly, “I got you, man. I want to help you out here,” before two security guards forcefully removed him off stage. The Forbes livestream briefly cut out, but when it resumed, MGK was already back in his seat chatting with Stoller.
“I left that guy in the past, I’m really sorry,” MGK told the audience. “I do apologize for my primal reaction.” Stoller praised him for his response, saying, “You handled that amazingly, by the way.”
MGK has faced physical altercations on stage before. During his performance at the 2021 Aftershock Festival, the Ohio native was pelted with bottles, tree branches and liquids. And at a recent appearance at Belgium’s Rock Werchter festival, MGK agreed to lightly strike a fan holding a sign that read, “I just came from Mexico 4 U 2 punch me in the face.”
Elsewhere in the 22-minute Forbes interview, MGK discussed his Cleveland coffee shop, 27 Club Coffee, and nail polish brand UN/DN LAQR.
A representative for MGK and Forbes did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Watch the incident, which takes place around the 10:40 mark, below.
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