Above is a video of Adam Levine signing autographs for the crowd before he was scheduled to perform with Maroon 5 on Jimmy Kimmel live yesterday. He’s flanked by three security guys. Somehow a person in the front of the crowd manages to get out a bag of sugar and dump it all over Adam’s face. (That’s at about :55 in.) Adam looks shocked, steps back and gets support from his friend, and then the security team descends on the culprit and detains him. At about 1:30 Adam angrily goes over to confront the guy but then quickly leaves.
"Your sugar. Yes, please. Won't you come and put it down on me?"
— E! Online (@eonline) May 7, 2015
The unnamed assailant is in his 30s and The Hollywood Reporter claims that he “also allegedly threw a rock at Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson last week.” Maroon 5’s latest single is “Sugar” and it’s assumed that this was meant to be some kind of dumb pun.
ET Online reports that the suspect was arrested and that “Hollywood police told ET that he is a repeat offender with five victims currently pressing charges against him for battery, including Levine.”
A rep for Jimmy Kimmel Live told The Huffington Post that “Immediately after the incident occurred, Jimmy Kimmel Live security followed protocol and alerted LAPD, who responded quickly and are looking into the situation.” Maroon 5’s performance apparently went on as scheduled. Fan photos show that Levine got cleaned up and even wore the same jacket to perform.
For all the perks, advantages and free stuff celebrities get, incidents like this remind us how much of a hassle it can be. They get recognized almost everywhere they go, they’re harassed by rude paparazzi, and some have psycho stalkers. Even with security, they can’t be protected against every scenario. This creeper reminds me of the guy who assaulted Brad Pitt, Kim Kardashian and America Ferrera at public events. Sure it’s funny and sugar is relatively harmless but it must have been scary at first. I never thought I’d have much sympathy for Adam Levine but there you go.
