American rock band Queens of the Stone Age is in a bit of a pickle. But even more so, the woman who got her head violently kicked by frontman Josh Homme during the KROQ's annual holiday concert in Los Angeles Saturday, Dec. 9.
Chelsea Lauren, a photographer for Shutterstock, has posted a video of the incident on her Instagram profile in which Homme walks past her, turns back, and then kicks both her camera and head. Though the video is grainy and jittery, Lauren clearly fell down upon impact.
"It was obviously very intentional," she said.
"My neck is a sore, my eyebrow bruised and I'm a bit nauseous. The doctor released me early in the morning," she posted on Instagram. "Assault in any form is not okay, no matter what the reasoning. Alcohol and drugs are no excuse. I was where I was allowed to be, I was not breaking any rules. I was simply trying to do my job."
A post shared by Chelsea Lauren (@chelsealaurenla) on Dec 9, 2017 at 11:38pm PST
Lauren elaborated further on what happened that night to Variety. She said she felt pretty excited because Homme was coming over, especially since she hadn't photographed the musician before.
"The next thing I know his foot connects with my camera and my camera connects with my face, really hard."
After the incident, Homme continued performing while Lauren held her face "because it hurt so badly."
Variety also reported that Homme seemed erratic the entire show, and at one point even took out a knife and slashed his own forehead with it. He also addressed the audience as "retards" and said "F*ck Muse!," referring to the headlining band.
Lauren later returned to photograph the rest of the performers during the concert but had to go for treatment afterward.
Homme released a statement on Sunday, Dec. 10, chalking the incident up to "being lost in performance."
"I did not mean for that to happen and I am very sorry," said Homme, adding that he would never cause harm to anyone on purpose.
For Homme, the kicking incident isn't the first time he's been associated allegations of physical abuse. He was sued in March 2016 for allegedly being verbally and physically abusive after a concert with Iggy Pop in Detroit. Even still, Homme has made it pretty clear in the past that he's against violence during shows.
"My whole life, I hate watching people get bullied and so, in a manner of speaking, you turn and you try to bully the bully," he said in an NME interview this past September.
Supporters of Lauren are encouraging her to press charges. She plans to file a police report soon, saying that if she doesn't do anything, it might send a message that musicians can get away with doing violent acts because of their status. "That's not right."
