Stars Who Fell Off The Stage

Stage-diving is a rock-and-roll rite of passage. Arguably the master of the art form is Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who once told American Masters of the perilous body endangerment he endured for his fans, "We're gonna take this to some level that people aren't gonna forget. If that means risking your life, we're gonna do it." Well, the other celebs on this list didn't have such lofty (or perhaps reckless) intentions. Not by a long shot.

Instead, this hapless grouping finds itself assembled thanks to one shared trait: clumsiness. From Rami Malek's 2019 Oscars tumble, to Madonna's 2015 BRIT Awards cape malfunction, to just a handful of times when flossing gave way to a free fall, these performers simply fell off the stage. Let's revisit their big time blunders while finally answering the question every concert goer has pondered at least once: Why is that ambulance parked right next to the stage?

After winning an historic award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance as Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, Rami Malek did what any good showman would do: He gave the audience an encore. Unfortunately, that came in the form of him tumbling off the stage of the 91st Academy Awards and into the front row, according to Cosmopolitan. And he would have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for that pesky internet.

You see, The Oscars telecast somehow missed Malek's fall, which was immediately followed by a check from a standby medic, at which point the shiny new Academy Award-winner reportedly "[pulled] a funny face, kiss[ed] the nice medic on the cheek, [and was] sent on his way." Thankfully, Malek seemed fine, and, as of this writing, has not commented on the fall. However, he previously told the crowd at Cinemacon in April 2018 (via People) of a different kind of danger associated with the award-winning role. "I thought, 'Oh my God, this could be a career-defining performance.' And about two minutes later I thought, This could be a career killer." Seems like he walked away from both in the best possible way.

2014 was a rough year for country music star Luke Bryan — at least in terms of gravity. The "Kick the Dust Up" crooner actually bit the dust not once, but twice that year, first in May at a Charlotte, N.C. show, then again in September at an Indiana gig, where he admirably made his unplanned plummet while trying to catch a beer behind his back.

Tragically, Bryan didn't seem to save the beverage, but he wasn't hurt, which we suppose is just as good of an outcome. He couldn't say the same for the May mishap, which resulted in him having to get a "few stitches," according to a Twitter update he kindly left for fans after getting doctored up. Brian O'Connell, an executive with the touring company that staged the show, Live Nation, also provided some helpful updates on Bryan after the fall, like a slightly gruesome photo of the singer's banged up legs. He followed that up with the this tongue-in-cheek plea to Bryan's fans: "Currently installing foam pit around thrust for tonight's @LukeBryanOnline show in DC, Pit fans, please catch him next time ;)." Seriously though, it's not a bad suggestion.

She may be so fancy, but Iggy Azalea's situational awareness could use some work. While performing during a pre-VMAs show in 2014, the "Mo Bounce" rapper proved she had a healthy dose of just that when she stepped backwards off the stage, fell into the crowd, and was hoisted back up, all without missing a rhyme. The only thing that would have been more impressive would have been if she, you know, remained vertical throughout the performance.

The good news is Azalea's sense of humor is apparently as healthy as her tuck-and-roll game, which she proved by posting a video of the unfortunately tacit trust fall to Instagram. The post is gone, but US Weekly reported the caption at the time as "Sorry but it would be a crime not to share this with you all, I know I laughed. #StillFinishedtheSongTho #KeptOnRapping #TheShowMustGoOn."

Azalea later blamed the blunder on her "Booty" collaborator Jennifer Lopez, telling ET that during a show they did together, her "microphone wasn't switched on." When Azalea quipped to Lopez, "At least I didn't fall over," Lopez reportedly said, "It'll happen to you one day." Azalea continued, "And then I invited her to watch that show and I fell off the stage! I was like, 'You're bad luck!'" How dare Jenny from the block forget to bring that two extra feet of floorboards with her?

Steven Tyler gets a very close second to Dave Grohl thanks to the broken shoulder he suffered when he fell off the stage during a 2009 show in Sturgis, South Dakota. According to Reuters, the show was only half over when Tyler "stepped backward off a catwalk while performing 'Love in an Elevator.'" Unfortunately, the universe was apparently in more of a "Dream On" mood, and Tyler went down. In addition to the busted wing, the "Sweet Emotion" crooner also required "stitches in his head and back." It's unclear whether his usual onstage dance partner, a paisley scarf-clad microphone, was also injured.

But every great band gives an encore, right? Aerosmith is no different, and almost exactly one year later, while performing the same song, no less, Tyler exited the stage the wrong way again — face first into the crowd. This time, Tyler had an assist from guitarist Joe Perry. Speaking to interviewer Sam Roberts, Perry said he "hip-checked" Tyler, because of Tyler's annoying habit of "nudging" the other band members while they play dangerously close to the edge of the stage, which Tyler had allegedly just done to Perry in this instance. "I didn't want to hurt him," Perry said. Luckily, Tyler seemed fine and the show went on, but it sure seems like some of the emotions between these guys aren't so... sweet.

The rap crew Gorillaz knows how to end a show — and we're not talking about a big finale. We're talking about emcee Del the Funky Homosapien vanishing into the void mid-verse, effectively truncating both the group's biggest song, "Clint Eastwood," as well as their overall set. According to Rolling Stone, Del took an untintentional dive during the band's "final song" at Denmark's Roskilde Festival. Announcing the abrupt wrap-up, bandmate Damon Albarn told the crowd, "Unfortunately, we've had a ... I don't know yet."

Albarn's uncertainty over Del's condition was later put to rest when Del tweeted the next day, "I'm doing alright but will be in the hospital for a bit, the care here is outstanding though. ... I'll be back soon yall."

So, just how serious was it? Del suffered "seven fractured ribs, and he punctured his lung on one side, lacerated it on the other," Albarn told Beats 1 (via Pitchfork) several days after the fall. He went on to say that he initially thought Del would bounce right back from the fall and be able to finish the show, but he quickly realized that wasn't the case. "It's an awful, awful thing that I can't quite believe," Albarn continued. One month later, Del told The Hype Magazine that he was still "basically bed-ridden," and that he recently "got a cat to help" with the lingering "trauma and anxiety." Yeesh.