After a viral moment at a recent Usher concert in Nashville, experts are weighing in on the ethics of consent in live stage performances.
The discourse started during the Nashville stop on The R&B Tour at Nissan Stadium
, co-headlined by artists Usher and Chris Brown. During the July 25 performance, Usher pulled a fan on stage for a steamy lap dance on a bed — a move that resulted in the fan’s visible discomfort.Tom Jackson, a live music performance coach based in Franklin who has worked with artists like Taylor Swift, Shawn Mendes and We the Kingdom, said that the incident captured the way live entertainment has devolved.
“It’s not a normal interaction on stage with a fan,” Jackson told the Tennessean. “The first thing I thought when I saw that
was, ‘This is entertainment?’ This is like soft porn.”
In viral clips from the concert, Usher grimaced and said to the audience, “I don’t think she wants to be on the stage,” before dismissing the fan with the flick of his hand. There are diverse opinions about whether the dismissal was predictable or disrespectful.
The Tennessee-based fan, a nurse from Chattanooga named Gabrielle Cheyenne, took to social media in the aftermath to share her thoughts on the awkward interaction. She clarified that her mother was in the audience and no one said which performer she'd be interacting with on stage.
“I don’t have to explain what exactly went through my mind right at that moment or what led up to that event,” she said on a livestream on her Facebook page. “I was at the concert. We got moved from the floor to VIP. And once I got off the stage, I went back to VIP and finished enjoying the concert. I didn’t think it would be this serious.”
Cheyenne added that Usher was not the main performer who convinced her to purchase tickets to the concert. That was part of the reason why she didn’t seem particularly interested in their interaction.
“I went to that concert strictly for Chris Brown,” she said.
The incident highlighted the blurry boundaries between artists and fans when spontaneous moments arise in front of an audience.
Regardless of which singer Cheyenne went to see in Nashville, she may not have wanted to participate in such an intimate exchange with a stranger in front of a crowd. Going on the stage doesn't inherently require that type of physical interaction, although Jackson pointed out Usher's performance was neither unique nor unusual.
“This is the expected norm for a concert nowadays," Jackson added. "What happened to music?”
In a subsequent concert in Birmingham, Usher told the crowd, “Now, before we get started, don’t bring your a-- up here if you don’t want to be here.”
Stephanie Burt, an English professor at Harvard University who teaches classes on feminism and sexuality, said that artists owe fans more communication before the audience member becomes involved with a performance.
“People who get called on stage at a show deserve to know in advance that they're gonna get called onstage. They also deserve to know, as specifically as possible, what they're gonna get asked to do and with whom. Sounds like that didn't happen here,” Burt told The Tennessean. “Usher should not have invited a fan to get that close onstage without the fan's explicit consent in advance, not just to go onstage but to do bed stuff.”
Burt noted, however, that Usher ultimately did the right thing by letting the fan leave after she expressed discomfort.
“Many powerful men expect that pretty women will automatically be into them, and believe that proximity implies consent,” Burt said via email. “Those men are wrong and often do harm. That's not just a fact about certain kinds of R&B or rock or metal or stand-up comedy shows; it's a bad fact about many powerful men.”
Some fans blamed Cheyenne for the viral moment in Nashville, claiming it was clear what type of behavior is now common on R&B stages, while others say such interactions should be discussed before the show.
Brown laughed in Alabama when Usher warned the crowd not to come on stage if they don't want to participate in a risqué performance. The woman that Usher brought on stage in Alabama was much more engaged and proactive in improvising the bed scene. Brown's fans have also eagerly participated in simulated sex acts during this tour, including the Nashville show, although Usher's awkward interaction attracted more attention.
As for Cheyenne, she is not participating in any online debates about performance norms or consent. She said on her livestream that she is returning to her regular life, away from the headlines.
“His life is moving. Mine is too,” she said. "I didn't think it was this deep."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Usher's Nashville concert sparks debate about fans and live performances
