A man charged with assault after singer Bebe Rexha was hit in the face with a mobile phone while performing on stage said he threw the phone “because it would be funny”.
Nicolas Malvagna, 27, from New Jersey has been charged with two counts of assault in the third degree, one count of aggravated harassment in the second degree, one count of attempted assault in the third degree and one count of harassment in the second degree.
According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, when asked by officers at the scene, “who threw the phone?” Malvagna responded, “I did,” and added: “I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny”.
Footage shared online from the gig at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York showed the phone hitting the star – whose real name is Bleta Rexha – on the forehead after being thrown by a person in the crowd.
She then stumbled backwards and put her hand up to her face before turning away from the audience and falling to her knees.
Rexha, who was taken to hospital for treatment, was left with redness, swelling, bruising, a laceration to her eye and suffered from substantial pain according to documents.
The 33-year-old singer shared images on Instagram, one which appeared to have been taken on the night of the gig showing a long cut underneath her eyebrow and a swollen eyelid.
A second image, in which she gave a thumbs up, showed a large purple bruise on her eyelid and stitching tape on her eyebrow. She captioned the post, “I’m good”.
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Rexha is next due to perform on 20 June at The Fillmore in Philadelphia, and she will come to the UK the following month, playing in London on 28 July at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire.
Malvagna will next appear in court on 31 July.