Tim McGraw: 'Get rid of this guy'

Tim McGraw: 'Get rid of this guy'

Tim McGraw, center, pulls a concertgoer on to the White River Amphitheater stage on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 in Auburn, Wash.

By KOMO Staff

AUBURN, Wash. -- Tim McGraw fans got a bit more of a show than they might have been expecting Tuesday when the country music star helped manhandle a rowdy concertgoer onto the stage and into the hands of security.

Video taken by fans shows McGraw stopping mid-song to reach down into the crowd and yank a large man out from the front row and up onto the stage where he was singing.

Security guards quickly ran in from the wings of the White River Amphitheater stage to help hold the man back.

At one point in the videos, the man wearing a tank top and cowboy hat makes a quick move toward McGraw, and the singer raised a clinched fist in response.

"He gets up and starts acting like he's going to fight Tim McGraw," said Tricia Johnson, who was there at the concert. "Just, strange."

Neither man threw a punch and the disruptive fan was quickly hustled off the side of the stage.

McGraw then returned to his performance of the song "Indian Outlaw."

People in the audience near the man before he was pulled on stage said he smelled of alcohol and was moving around wildly, pushing his way forward and smashing into people during the song.

"He was just drunk. So drunk, you could smell it," said Johnson.

In an interview with Seattle country music station KMPS on Wednesday morning, a man named Jay, who the station identified as a friend of McGraw, said the singer first tried asking the man to come up on stage and stop crushing those around him.

"He was a pretty big guy and he was pretty drunk and he was rolling over everybody down there," Jay told the station.

"Tim had to stop everything to get that guy out of there because there were some women down there he was trying to keep from being hurt."

Tricia Johnson and her boyfriend Patrick say they actually ran into the man who was pulled on stage after the concert. They took a photo with him (seen at right) and asked the man what happened, and he said he didn't know; that he thought he was being pulled on stage to sing with McGraw.

A statement from McGraw's representative says he witnessed the man rush up and attack a female, and he intervened when security couldn't respond quickly enough.

---

Have video or pictures of the incident? Submit them online now

Icon
Current Temp 63 °F
Mostly Cloudy
More Weather
More Weather

Travel Times

Traffic

On Demand

Resources and info you need to prepare for the switch to DTV.

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.