The Killers issue apology after bringing Russian drummer on stage during Georgia concert
Frontman Brandon Flowers urged the Georgian fans, whose country was invaded by Russia in 2008, to welcome their “brother.”
The Killers were booed and jeered during a concert in eastern Europe on Tuesday after bringing a Russian fan onstage and asking the audience to think of themselves as "brothers and sisters." The band, fronted by Brandon Flowers, were performing in Batumi, Georgia.
Georgia gained independence from the former USSR in 1991 but was invaded by Russia in 2008,. The Vladimir Putin-led country continues to occupy 20% of Georgian territory to this day.
The band invited the unnamed Russian man onto the stage toward the end of their show to play drums with them during "For Reasons Unknown." In clips circulating on social media, Flowers addresses the crowd and asks: “We don’t know the etiquette of this land but this guy’s a Russian. You OK with a Russian coming up here?” His announcement was greeted with a chorus of boos that continued after the band finished.
After the song ended, Flowers acknowledged the response and tried to reason with the fans, "You can’t recognise if someone’s your brother? He’s not your brother? We all separate on the borders of our countries? … Am I not your brother, being from America?” Adding: "I don’t want it to turn ugly. And I see you as my brothers and my sisters."
“Good people of Georgia, it was never our intention to offend anyone!” the group wrote in a statement shared on social media after the show. “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.”
The band explained that Flowers’ comments were “meant to suggest that all of The Killers’ audience and fans are ‘brothers and sisters’”, but that they understood how they “could be misconstrued”.
“We stand with you and hope to return soon,” the band added