Judas Priest’s Rob Halford explains why he kicked fan’s phone at recent US show

By Scott Munro
( Classic Rock )
last updated

After footage of Rob Halford kicking a phone out of a fan's hands appeared online, the Judas Priest frontman explains why he lashed out

Judas Priest's Rob Halford (Image credit: Scott Dudelson - Getty)

Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford has explained why he lashed out at a fan who was filming him during their recent show in Illinois.

The incident occurred at the Rosemont Theatre last weekend, with recently released video footage showing Halford kicking the phone of a fan who was filming the band’s performance.

It was reported that the situation came to a head when the fan in question turned on the light on his phone, which distracted the Priest frontman.

Now Halford has given a statement about the incident to Loudwire.

He says: “The facts are we love our fans and you can film us all you like and watch our show on your phone rather than in the flesh.

“However, if you physically interfere with the Metal God’s performance, you now know what will happen.”

Judas Priest’s North American tour with Uriah Heep continues tonight (May 31) when they’ll take to the stage at the Bomb Factory in Dallas, Texas.

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.