Hozier's sold-out concert at the Forest Hills Stadium in New York reportedly left some fans triggered during his speeches at the concert.
While introducing his next song, "Nina Cried Power," the Grammy-nominated singer delivered an impassioned speech about the situation in the Gaza Strip amid the Israel-Hamas war in the war-torn area, among many other issues.
"And we wouldn't want to see anybody subjected to the kind of violence that and indiscriminate bombing that we are seeing on our TV screens," Hozier said, as quoted by The Mirror. "The kind of assault in Rafah's face and the genocide and violence. And in that same way that people are showing up at the moment saying we would want to be represented to our democratic representation - we want to be represented in that compassion, and in that human witness and in that law."
While Hozier earned applause and cheers from a supportive crowd, the outlet reported that some fans stormed off as he discussed the sensitive topic.
A fan allegedly cursed the singer before demanding their friends and family leave the show after Hozier's politically charged speech.
"Come on, we're getting out of here," the fan reportedly said.
However, fans online refuted the situation, saying that the speech occurred at the encore when many were already seen leaving the stadium.
"The speech occurred during the encore and plenty of folks had started leaving at this point to presumably beat the crowd. Secondly, it wasn't JUST a speech for peace. He spoke of civil rights, how it affected Ireland, how we take our rights for granted, fighting racism, advocating for reproductive rights and ultimately how we should all vote blue," a user commented on Reddit.
"As if these people didn't know what they were expecting from Hozier. He's been quite vocal about this conflict, and he's Irish. It's good to know that artists like Hozier and etc are using their platform to advocate for peace instead of a genocide," another supported.
"Hozier didn't make his speech until right before they played "Nina Cried Power" in the encore, which consisted of a total of TWO songs and a happy birthday. How could people get offended by a speech given when the concert was nearly over but have left halfway through the show?" another fan attested.
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