Dev Hynes, also known as Blood Orange, has alleged that he and his girlfriend Samantha Urbani (also a musician) were assaulted by three Lollapalooza security guards yesterday. According to Hynes, the incident occurred after his performance in the late afternoon and was unprovoked.
The security guards reportedly jumped Hynes and Urbani just a few hours after his performance. The pair detailed the incident in a series of Tweets.
(Photos : Courtesy of Twitter: @devhynes)
Interestingly, Hynes had been openly vocal against police brutality that day. The pair spent time on stage imploring the public to be vigilant about the issue, and both wore homemade shirts commemorating victims of the violence. Dev posted an image of himself on Twitter wearing the shirt, emblazoned with the names of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Jordan Davis and Oscar Grant. He also staged a silent protest during his set.
Unfortunately, just a few hours later Dev and Urbani would go on to experience a version of that violence firsthand. Dev was reportedly wearing the shirt when the incident occurred.
Urbani stated that after speaking with Lollapalooza, they have discovered that the assault was not conducted by Lollapalooza staff, but by privately hired guards for the stage. One of the guards involved has claimed that Dev actually assaulted him, while Dev maintains his innocence and is confident that there are many witnesses to the brutality.
According to Billboard, Lollapalooza released the following statement in regards to the incident.
"Late Friday night, we learned of an incident involving an artist and a security guard on site. Since then, we have been in contact with those involved and the authorities, as we work together to resolve the situation. As always, our top priority is to ensure the safety of everyone at the festival."
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