Pop star Kesha experienced a frightening and unexpected turn of events during her recent performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago. The singer, known for her energetic and dramatic stage presence, revealed that the prop knife used in her set was accidentally swapped with a real butcher knife.
On August 1, Kesha took to X (formerly Twitter) to explain the mix-up, stating that the stage crew inadvertently replaced her prop blade with an actual butcher knife from the festival’s kitchen. “Sooooo apparently the prop knife went missing and they replaced it with a real butcher knife stolen from the kitchen,” Kesha posted. “I didn’t know. Till now. So watch that again.”
The mishap occurred as Kesha performed her hit song “Backstabber,” which involves choreographed moments of her pretending to stab her dancers. Despite the dangerous error, Kesha managed to complete her set without incident. The singer did not disclose who was responsible for the mix-up.
The revelation sparked a flurry of reactions on social media. Many users expressed shock and concern over the potentially disastrous situation. One user on X commented, “Kesha not knowing her ‘prop’ was a real knife bc they didn’t tell her is actually insane 😭 like imagine she threw that shit into the crowd thinking some fan would cherish it forever and BOOM someone’s lost an eye.”
Others criticized the handling of the situation, with comments highlighting the risks associated with using real weapons on stage. “An inquiry should be put in with your team and someone should be held accountable that’s sooooo bad,” wrote another user.
The incident drew comparisons to the tragic “Rust” shooting, where actor Alec Baldwin accidentally discharged a prop gun, leading to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Critics questioned whether lessons had been learned from such past events. “How do they opt for a REAL knife instead of having a backup prop knife??” one Reddit user asked, while another remarked, “After the Alec Baldwin shit? Really???? I would fire every single one of them on the spot.”
As of now, there has been no update on the missing prop knife. Kesha’s performance was part of a star-studded lineup at the Lollapalooza festival, which also featured Megan Thee Stallion, SZA, The Killers, and Blink-182.
HuffPost has reached out to representatives for both Kesha and Lollapalooza for further comment on the situation.
