Video: Drew Barrymore Rushed Off NYC Stage When Screaming Man Approaches
A New York event featuring Drew Barrymore was disrupted Monday by a man who approached the stage shouting loudly.
Barrymore was interviewing actress/singer Reneé Rapp when the man started yelling, “Drew Barrymore!” NBC News reported.
“I need to see you at some point while you’re in New York, OK?” the man continued. “You know who I am.”
Videos of the encounter have since gone viral on social media.
A Drew Barrymore stalker was escorted out of her 92NY event with Reneé Rapp after rushing the stage. pic.twitter.com/8FKqaWzgU8
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 22, 2023
Barrymore, apparently caught off guard, responded, “Oh, my God! Yes! Hi!”
Rapp was less welcoming. She quickly showed concern, and she soon got to her feet and directed Barrymore offstage.
“Two men who appeared to be security officers approached the man, seemingly to escort him away,” according to NBC.
An event organizer told Fox News Digital that the man at first appeared to be walking toward the stage to find his seat.
“He had a ticket for the event,” the unnamed representative said. “He walked down the aisle. As he got to the front, the guard saw him, thought he was taking a seat, and then all of a sudden, he just started yelling.
“The guard immediately grabbed him, walked him across the front of the stage… the exit door is to the other side, the guard walked him across and escorted him right out into the street.”
Barrymore and Rapp sought refuge backstage in the green room for about 10 minutes, until they were assured the coast was clear, Fox reported.
Then they came back onstage, to the applause of the audience.
The event organizer told Fox that police were notified, but said there wasn’t much they could do.
“[E]ven NYPD said, like, ‘There’s nothing to charge him with.’ He didn’t fight it. He didn’t resist,” the source said of the man’s exit from the event.
“He didn’t threaten her, he’s not like a known stalker to [Barrymore]. In fact, [Barrymore] said that that was the first time that ever happened to her,” the insider said.
The disruptive individual “is actually notorious” for creating such scenes, the insider told Fox.
“People that have seen him all said he’s known in celebrity circles…. He’ll try to come in and try to disrupt things… try to get the attention of celebrities.”
When the show resumed, Barrymore praised Rapp for her instinctive action, CNN reported.
“Well, I have a new definition of your sexiness, it’s that level of protectiveness,” she told her guest. “That [situation] went full ‘Bodyguard.’”
Barrymore gave Rapp a grateful hug, proclaiming, “You’re my Kevin Costner!” to which Rapp, after laughing, responded, “I’ll be that.”
It was a reference to the 1992 film “The Bodyguard,” in which Costner played a security guard hired to protect Whitney Houston’s character from a stalker.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
