The Kid Laroi disappointed thousands of fans on Friday when he canceled a major concert in Melbourne at the last minute because he was too ill to perform.
The 18-year-old superstar rapper left the show at Rod Laver Arena forty minutes after the scheduled start time, leaving the huge crowd devastated.
Footage from the concert showed an announcer coming out and breaking the bad news to the confused crowd.
Downer: The Kid Laroi (pictured) disappointed thousands of fans on Friday when he canceled his concert in Melbourne at the last minute because he was too ill to perform. Pictured: The Kid Laroi performs at the RAC Arena in Perth on May 20th
‘Hello, everyone. Unfortunately tonight’s show is being postponed due to The Kid Laroi’s illness. It’s out of anyone’s control. You will be contacted via email regarding your changed show dates,” they said.
Angry at the announcement, viewers booed, taunted and threw beers.
Angry onlookers began a chant of “Bulls**t! bull**t!’ as they left the venue.
Devastated: The superstar rapper, 18, left the show at Rod Laver Arena forty minutes after the scheduled start time, leaving the huge crowd devastated. Pictured: A fan responds after hearing that Kid Laroi was unable to go on stage on Friday night
A humbled Laroi, whose real name is Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard, took to his social media to apologize to fans to explain the dramatic cancellation.
“Melbourne, to say I’m sorry is an understatement,” he began.
The Instagram message then shared how Laroi woke up with nausea on Friday.
After twice testing negative for COVID, the performer performed a sound check at the venue.
Apology: The Kid Laroi apologized to fans after Melbourne’s canceled concert on Friday
His condition got so bad, Laroi says, that doctors gave him an IV.
“It became over the course of the night [the illness] got worse,” Laroi said in his message, “to the point where I had a hard time getting up and going to the bathroom.”
Laroi has already played in Sydney and Adelaide as part of his world tour and he has promised to return.
“This is my first tour ever and I absolutely hate having to do this, especially at the last minute as it’s not fair to you guys,” he said in his post.
“I’d be lying to you if I told you it’s okay to come up and perform for you.”
COVID fear: The singer woke up on the morning of Friday’s show feeling ill and took two COVID tests – both came back negative and his condition worsened over the course of the day. Pictured: The Kid Laroi performs in Perth as part of his first world tour
The late cancellation sparked a Twitter storm of anger from Laroi’s loyal fans.
“I went and waited two hours for him to come out so he could cancel. Terrible and embarrassing,” tweeted one fan.
“Such a disappointment as it was my daughter’s 16th birthday. Saved to trip up her friend, spend a night on the town. Now she has a lifetime of disappointing memories instead of a great night,” said another.
“Can you also reimburse me for the flights and accommodation that I paid for? Just crap to cancel after he was supposed to come,” asked someone else at the show.
Upset: Footage from the concert showed an announcer coming out and breaking the bad news to the confused crowd
Anger: Angry at the announcement, viewers booed, jeered and threw beers
Others agreed that Laroi’s condition had been poorly managed.
“He said he felt bad at the sound check that if he had known he was bad he should have canceled it instead of making people wait for almost an hour after he was supposed to come out and perform,” another person wrote .
“Why wasn’t anything said until 30 minutes when he was originally supposed to come out? We want compensation, not a postponement, what nonsense!’ wrote another Laroi fan.
Laroi is one of the most famous hip hop stars in the world today and has worked with artists such as Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus.
Not cool: The late cancellation sparked a Twitter storm of anger from Laroi’s loyal fans
The pop superstar flew to Australia last week with his girlfriend, TikTok star Katarina Deme.
He kicked off the Australian leg of his End of the World Tour in Sydney on May 26 and is now kicking off a series of stadium shows.
These concerts mark the first time he has performed in front of a hometown audience since he opened for his late mentor Juice WRLD in 2019.
Superstar: Laroi jetted to Australia last week with his model girlfriend Katarina Deme (left).