Billie Eilish stops concert again over fans’ safety: ‘Take a breath’

Eilish had paused her show in Atlanta earlier this month after noticing a fan struggling to breathe

Billie Eilish once again halted her concert to check on fans as she performed at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Friday (18 February).

Earlier this month on 5 February, the “Ocean Eyes” singer paused her Happier Than Ever tour show in Atlanta after she noticed a fan struggling to breathe.

At the time, Eilish urged fans not to crowd the concertgoer at the State Farm Arena, offering to get her an inhaler and wait for her to feel better before continuing the show.

Later on, she told the crowd: “I wait for people to be OK until I keep going.”

Eilish drew criticism from rapper Kanye West who, like many others, believed Eilish’s statement was a dig at Travis Scott and his alleged inaction over the Astroworld tragedy in Houston, Texas that left 10 people dead and hundreds more injured.

West – who has now legally changed his name to Ye – had earlier in an Instagram post, threatened to cancel his forthcoming headliner act at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival in April 2022 until Eilish apologised to the “Goosebumps” singer.

Along with West, Eilish and Harry Styles are scheduled to headline the California-based music festival later this year.

Eilish responded to West’s demand for an apology in the comments of his since-deleted Instagram post, writing: “Literally never said a thing about Travis. Was just helping a fan.”

Scott, with other Astroworld stakeholders such as Drake and organisers Live Nation, faces a $2bn (£1.49m) lawsuit that lists 200-plus plaintiffs, or victims’s families seeking punitive action against the defendants over the tragedy.

In an interview a month after the Astroworld tragedy, Scott claimed he wasn’t aware people were seriously injured and had died until after his performance was over.