90s pop star slams fans for taking toilet break during show

Tina Arena has been left unimpressed by fans taking a toilet break at her concert (Picture: Naomi Rahim/ WireImage)

Tina Arena has taken aim at fans who left their seats at her concert to go to the toilet.

The Australian singer-songwriter rose to fame as a child on the variety programme Young Talent Time, then beginning her career as a solo singer aged 17.

Her second album Don’t Ask, which was released in 1994 reached number one on the Australian charts, while it also peaked at number 11 in the UK.

In 1996 she was also nominated for International Breakthrough Act at the Brits, however it was won by Alanis Morissette.

In the years since she’s sold over 10 million records worldwide.

However, this week Tina, 57, was left unimpressed while putting on a show at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne.

She called them out while on stage (Picture: Brendon Thorne/ Getty Images) The Australian singer was nominated for a Brit Award in 1996 (Picture: Naomi Rahim/ WireImage)

During her Don’t Ask Again tour, Tina launched a scathing attack on fans who moved from their seats.

Some fans, who paid around $250 (£125) for tickets, needed a toilet break during her set.

Them deciding to go to the bathroom reportedly upset the singer, who called them out.

‘Back in my day you wouldn’t leave to go to the toilet unless you were s***ting your pants,’ she said, as reported by the Herald Sun.

However, several people who were at the concert defended the singer.

‘It was a tongue in cheek comment. Also let’s not discuss the drunken people disrupting and having a brawl, that resulted in the show being stopped for 10 mins whilst security escorted the people out. Tina was absolutely fabulous,’ Berni commented on FaceBook.

‘I was at this concert and I have never experienced the amount of people getting up and walking up and down aisles. It was disappointing and disrupting to the patrons. Multiple people around me could not believe how many people were walking up and down…it was ridiculous. She simply asked for people to go between songs and not during a song, a reasonable request,’ Raelene shared.

She faced backlash when performing with Katy Perry last year (Picture: Daniel Pockett/ AFL Photos/ Getty Images)

‘It was annoying the amount of people walking in front while we were trying to enjoy her concert. She was amazing. I’ve never been to a concert where some patrons were so disruptive. I’m 65 and I can manage to hold my bladder. We were lucky she spoke so calmly and finished her sets. She also had to deal with a drunken argument in the front rows and a flash going off every few mins,’ Pam added.

Last year Tina faced backlash during a performance with Katy Perry at the Australian Football League’s Grand Final.

In 2023 she had been slammed after admitting she broke Melbourne’s Covid lockdown rules in an interview, calling it ‘totalitarian’ and saying she ‘couldn’t cope’ with being ‘fear-driven’.

When she took to the stage at the sporting event, boos could be heard among the crowd of 100,000 people at the stadium.

Metro has contacted representatives for Tina Arena for comment.

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