Nicolas Malvagna arrested hurling phone at Bebe Rexha during NYC concert as luxury dog kennel worker admits throwing phone because ‘it would be funny’.
What if he had killed her? A luxury dog kennel worker has been charged with assault after allegedly hurling a phone at Grammy nominated artist, Bebe Rexha during her New York concert.
Nicolas Malvagna, 27, of Manalapan, New Jersey, was arrested at 11pm on Sunday night, after the device smashed the performer in the face, causing her to have three stitches, TMZ reported.
The 33-year-old singer was playing at a ‘sold out’ concert Sunday at NYC’s The Rooftop at Pier 17 on her Best F’n Night Of My Life tour.
‘I thought it would be funny’
Appearing during a Monday night arraignment, our collective hero was booked on a slew of charges including; two counts of assault, one count of harassment, one count of aggravated harassment, and one count of attempted assault.
According to the Manhattan DA’s office, Malvagna confessed to the crime, saying: ‘I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny.’
Malvagna according to his Linkldn profile works as a
The man’s employer confirmed Malvagna working at the dog resort for six months.
In a statement, Judy Gorski the local franchise owner of K9 Resorts in East Brunswick said: ‘I understand one of our employees was attending the Bebe Rexha concert on his personal time.
‘I was shocked to learn of his arrest. My staff and I do not condone violence in any form, regardless of intent, and this action does not align with our values as a company.’
Not immediately clear is whether Malvagna continued to be employed by the luxury dog resort.
omg bebe rexha 😭🤍 pic.twitter.com/zZcZ037054
— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) June 19, 2023
Singer bounces back
Rexha (full name is Bleta Rexha) had been performing and was making her way to the front of the stage when she was hit in the face by the device.
She posted a video of her injuries to social media, showing that she was forced to have stitches in her eyebrow as a result.
The singer captioned it ‘I’m okay you guys’, before singing: ‘I’m goodk, yeah I’m feeling alright’.
Malvagna was taken aside and arrested just after 11pm after throwing the phone at the singer.
Seconds after the incident Rexha, a Brooklyn native, fell to her knees with her head down as multiple crew members in the wings rushed to her aid before she was taken to Bellevue hospital.
Fans immediately alerted security to the man who allegedly threw the phone, who was then taken away by security.
Other fans were quick to shout ‘that’s assault’ at him as he was taken away, as others started to boo and called him an ‘a**hole’.
Malvagna remained in police custody leading up to his Monday night arraignment, ABC7NY reported.
Social media responds
Dozens of Rexha’s fans took to Twitter to vent about the senseless attack on the pop star.
‘Bebe is literally one of the sweetest and most unproblematic people in the music industry she doesn’t deserve this… some of y’all really need to leave her alone omg,’ one fan wrote.
Wrote another, ‘Absolutely great show ruined by a fan throwing their phone at @BebeRexha hopefully she is ok after that.’
‘Wow, this is so vile, nasty, and disturbing. Bebe Rexha doesn’t deserve this at all. I hope she is ok, and I hope the person who threw the phone gets charged with assault,’ another follower tweeted.
One fan complained about the lack of decorum on the part of the fan who pitched the phone onstage, while another questioned why and how something like this could happen.
”Fans’ suck so bad because what do you mean Bebe Rexha had to go to the f***ing hospital and get stitches in her head because someone threw a phone at her and it hit her???? What the f***???’ the fan said.
It was not immediately clear if, or how long, the scary incident and resultant injury would sideline Rexha amid her tour.
She risked being sidelined with four upcoming concert dates scheduled for the week ahead.
They include a June 20 date at The Fillmore in Philadelphia; June 21 at The Fillmore Silver Spring in Silver Spring, Maryland; June 23 at the Tabernacle in Atlanta; and on June 24 at the Hard Rock Live Orlando in Orlando, Florida.
