During Maroon 5’s performance at Audacy’s We Can Survive concert at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday, a female fan jumped onstage and grabbed frontman Adam Levine. Although security quickly pulled her away, Levine froze in the middle of the song, visibly mouthing “fuck” and shaking himself off before resuming the performance. Some fans criticized his reaction after video of the incident went viral on TikTok, leading the singer to release a statement addressing it on social media.

“I just wanted to address the Hollywood Bowl incident thing, a fan coming up to me onstage,” Levine began in a series of Instagram Stories. “I have always been someone that loves, respects, worships our fans. Without our fans, we don’t have a job. I say that all the time to our fans. To think that anyone would believe that I thought that our fans were beneath us or less than us makes my stomach turn. It’s just not who I am, it’s not who I’ve ever been.”

“So I just need you guys to know, I was really startled,” Levine continued. “And sometimes when you’re startled, you have to shake it off and move on, cause I’m doing my job up there. It’s what I pride myself on. So I need to let you guys know what my heart is, and my heart is that connection that exists between the band performing onstage and the fans. I hope we can all understand that.”

@luispenaloza9525

Adam Levine was a whole mood yesterday💀 #Fyp #ForYou #Maroon5 #AdamLevine #Hollywood #HollywoodBowl

♬ Sunday Morning – Maroon 5