Madison Burgess
A rapper has divided opinion after he stopped his concert to publicly call out a mother who brought her one-year-child along to the gig without any hearing protection.
The musician in question is Colombian rapper and singer Maluma, real name Juan Luis Londoño Arias, who is currently on his +PRETTY +DIRTY TOUR.
He's one of the world's best-selling Latin music artists, having sold more than 18 million records, and he has even collaborated with some huge names including Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Shakira, and Jason Derulo.
However, his name has been thrust into the spotlight for a different reason this week as he publicly called out a fan for her parenting choices during his concert in Mexico City.
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On Friday night (August 8) at the Palacio de los Deportes, which can hold around 20,000 people, the rapper spotted a mother with a young child in the standing section of the crowd.
Speaking in Spanish, he stopped singing and voiced his concerns by questioned how old the little one was.
As per Rolling Stone and as seen in a video circulating online, Maluma asked: “With all due respect… how old are they? A year old? Less? A year."
He then questioned: "Do you think it’s a good idea to bring a one-year-old baby to a concert where the decibels are this f***ing high? Where is the sound this loud?
"That baby doesn’t even know what it’s doing here. Next time, protect their ears or something. For real. It’s heavy. It’s your responsibility."
Continuing to brutally lay into the fan, he told her: "You’re waving them around like they’re a toy. That baby doesn’t want to be there, for real. I’m telling you with all love and respect, now that I’m a father [I] would never bring them to a concert."
He ended his rant with: "For the next time, be a bit more aware.”
Ouch.
It's unknown what happened after the very awkward interaction, including whether the mother left or stayed at the gig, but one thing is for certain - the now-viral moment has certainly divided opinion on social media.
Some people have praised the music star for looking out for the baby and speaking up about the dangers, however, others think it was a bit mean to berate her so publicly.
One X (formerly Twitter) user wrote: "She didn't deserve that level of embarrassment" while a second agreed: "Maluma can afford a babysitter, that's the difference."
A third reasoned: "Ok this is extremely real and responsible of him to do but crazy because he embarrassed that parent on another level."
And a fourth argued: "Singers or artists stoping the show to humiliate or trying to teach the audience something is always wrong. Like their moral values are greater than the audience.
They added: "They paid, you do your performance and shut up about the audience."
While someone else pointed out: "This is really important and I hope raises awareness - there’s a serious lack of education when it comes to hearing protection even for adults at concerts, take care of your ears, friends."
Another chimed in with: "Protecting fans, especially the most vulnerable, should always come before the performance, and he made that crystal clear."
Meanwhile, someone else wrote: "Totally inappropriate to have a baby without protection but totally inappropriate to single her out like that too. I hate preachy performers."