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‘This is not the time to be kicking a squirrel and letting it drown’: Squirrel kicked into body of water at Halsey concert, sparking outrage

‘What was the f*cking point of kicking that squirrel that was just trying to get away from the water.’

Photo of Jackie Ibarra

Jackie Ibarra

squirrel in water on ground (l) man on stage about to kick squirrel into water (c) squirrel on music equipment (r)

This story contains graphic content related to animals being harmed.

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Videos of a flooded amphitheater and drenched fans at Halsey’s June 8 concert went viral after flash flooding and severe weather reportedly forced the singer to cancel their concert.

A series of videos highlighting the chaos that happened in the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland went viral on Twitter.

One particular video of a squirrel in the venue has sparked outrage among fans and viewers. 

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“There’s no way this Halsey Maryland show is real like WHAT,” the user who captured the video wrote in the caption. 

The video, which has over 520,300 views on Twitter and was posted by user @ammamariee, shows the moment a squirrel was kicked by a man off the stage, into the ankle-high flooded floor of the Merriweather. In the video, concert-goers in the front row standing behind a gate scream as they watch the squirrel struggle to escape the water. 

https://twitter.com/ammamariee/status/1534704419677388801

“Poor baby” and “It’s a squirrel, pick him up,” fans say in the front row as they plead with staff on stage to help the squirrel. 

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According to the user who posted the video, the squirrel, bestowed the name “Chuck” by fans in the video, was OK and managed to find shelter backstage. However, fans were still upset about how the situation was handled.  

“Now what was the fucking point of kicking that squirrel that was just trying to get away from the water,” one user commented under the video. Another user quoted the tweet with the caption, “WHY DID HE KICK THE POOR THING OFF THE STAGE WHAT THE-.”

It’s not entirely clear who the man was, but fans in the comments of the video speculated it was one of Halsey’s staff and not someone who works at the Merriweather. 

Audrey Shaefer, a spokesperson for the Pavillion, called the incident “upsetting” in an email to the Daily Dot. Shaefer said that even though “it wasn’t a venue employee or contractor, we’re looking into it.”

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Halsey’s team has not responded to the Daily Dot’s requests for comments via email.


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