The man who left Bebe Rexha needing three stitches on her face has come up with an eyebrow-raising excuse for his behaviour.
The pop star had to be rushed offstage during a concert on Sunday night after Nicholas Malvagna, 27, hurled his phone straight at her.
Rexha, who was performing in New York for her ‘Best F'n Night of My Life’ tour, was filmed dropping to her knees in agony as the device struck her in the eye.
But Malvagna insists he hadn’t intended to hurt the singer-songwriter and that he’d merely been trying to make his mark as part of a viral trend.
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“It’s a TikTok trend where you throw your phone onto the stage, and a celebrity passes it and takes a selfie,'” the 27-year-old told arresting officers, according to Manhattan prosecutor Stephan Millan.
“‘I thought she was looking in my direction,” he added. “I was about two rows back, but instead of my phone landing right next to her, my phone hit her in the face.”
His lawyer, Todd Spodek, reiterated the claim in a statement, saying: “As a fan, Mr. Malvagna’s sole intention was to have Ms. Rexha take photos with his phone and return it as a keepsake. It was never his intention to injure Ms. Rehxa.”
However, this justification runs contrary to a criminal complaint that was filed at the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
It claims that when Malvagna was asked by officers at the scene who had thrown the phone, he replied: "I did. I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny".
Suffice it to say, fellow fans failed to see the “funny” side, and Rexha ended up in stitches of a very different kind.
The 33-year-old ‘I’m Good (Blue)’ singer, reassured her 11 million Instagram followers that she was, indeed, all good in the wake of the incident, despite being left black and blue.
She posted two photos in the wake of the incident, showing her left eye looking purple and swollen, and a cut running across her eyebrow, as she smiled stoically through the pain.
Malvagna, who is from New Jersey, is facing two counts of assault, one count of harassment, one count of aggravated harassment, and one count of attempted assault.
He was freed without bail on Tuesday ahead of a 31 July court date and has been banned from making any contact with Rexha.
Prosecutor Millan told Judge Valentina Morales: “Although the parties appear to be strangers, the defendant’s actions are serious.
“The defendant was attending the victim’s concert. He decided it would be funny to throw his phone at her while she was performing. The phone struck her in the face which caused her swelling, redness and a laceration to her face.
“For these reasons, we believe a full and temporary order of protection at this time.”
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