The Killers are apologizing after taking heat for bringing a Russian fan onstage to play with them during a performance in the country of Georgia.
During its Tuesday night show, the band members selected a guest drummer from the crowd to back them for their song “For Reasons Unknown.”
“We don’t know the etiquette of this land but this guy’s a Russian. Are you OK with a Russian coming up here?” the Killers’ lead singer, Brandon Flowers, asked of the guest drummer.
Immediately after making the announcement, Flowers was met with audible boos from the crowd.
The “Mr. Brightside” singer then responded by saying: “You can’t recognize if someone’s your brother? He’s not your brother? … We all separate on the borders of our countries? That’s what you want to separate it on? So I’m not your brother? Am I not your brother being from America?… I’m not your brother?”
After those remarks, the crowd continued to jeer at the performers. This prompted Flowers to add: “One of the things that we have come to appreciate about being in this band is it brings people together. And tonight I want us to celebrate that we’re here together, and I don’t want it to turn ugly. I see you as my brothers and my sisters.”
Georgia gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 when the political state dissolved under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev. In 1993, the former Soviet territory shot down a Russian plane that it claimed was on a bombing mission; Russian officials at the time denied that claim. The incident took place during a conflict between the Georgian government and separatists from the ethnic minority known as Abkhazians.
In August 2008, Russia invaded Georgia, as a result of conflict over the disputed region of South Ossetia. The fighting was short-lived but deadly and led to Russia controlling the territory to this day.
The Killers released a statement on social media regarding the crowd upheaval at Tuesday’s show.
“Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone! We have a longstanding tradition of inviting people to play drums and it seemed from the stage that the initial response from the crowd indicated that they were okay with tonight’s audience participation member coming onstage with us,” the online message reads.
“We recognize that a comment, meant to suggest that all of The Killers’ audience and fans are ‘brothers and sisters,’ could be misconstrued. We did not mean to upset anyone and we apologize. We stand with you and hope to return soon.”
This story originally appeared on LA Times
