"Artists like her are narcissists" — Internet divided over Fantasia telling concertgoers to put down their phones and focus on her performance

Singer Fantasia recently criticized her fans for spending too much time on their phones during a concert in Detroit on Friday, July 12. Fans online had mixed reactions to her statement, with many agreeing with her and others alleging that they can enjoy while recording as well.

During her Detroit concert at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheater, Fantasia lashed out at her fans claiming that they cannot have fun because they're too busy "filming stuff." She said:

"So I wanna tell you now. We're living in a world where y'all can't have fun because you've been too busy trying to film stuff. So wack now. And we as performers, we be up here working and y'all [gestures holding up phone]..."

She continued:

"You know the money that you pay in here tonight you could've done something else with it. So if you paid the money, you might as well get your [money's worth]."

The singer's statements sparked an online debate on social media. Some netizens agreed while some disagreed with her observations about the current generation and their attachment to filming every moment. Taking up to the social media X(formerly Twitter) one person said:

"Ughhhh shut up, I paid for this!," one person wrote.

"It shouldn’t even matter! I paid to see a performance…PERFORM!!!" another person said.

"I mean at this point people know. Why even bother keep trying to tell them to stop?" one netizen said.

"I mean people can enjoy the moment while trying to record the memories at the same time," another person pointed out.

"Girl bye and be glad I came," a fan said.

Meanwhile, other users agreed with Fantasia and believed that the experience of watching a live performance is gone when people are filming most of it all the time.

"Some of y’all offended, but be honest, most of you are only recording because you want to post and brag to ‘Social Media’ that you ‘Were There’," one person said.

"No frfr this how they was at essence.. Meanwhile I dance the whole time I was there never sat down," another user shared.

"Just said that this morning, you all need to live the moment and stop recording it, photos are cool but when you record everything we know y’all not really having fun like y’all say fr, that’s why you can get paid for videos and still be miserable for attention male/female," another person added.

"@TasiasWord When I finally see you in concert, I'll take just one photo and put my phone down. I PROMISE!" a user joked while tagging Fantasia.

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Fantasia invited a fan on stage to take a photo with her during her concert in Detroit

After Fantasia lashed out at her fans for filming everything on their phone, the singer invited one of her fans on stage to click a picture with her. She joked that the fan was too overwhelmed and was unable to take it. She said:

"Young people, he can't take it–he's about to have a heart attack...Now you got your picture, put your phone down. We gon' show y'all what a party really looks like."

The singer is not the only one to ask her fans to stop using their phones during a concert. Rapper Busta Rhymes also recently criticized his fans in a similar situation during his performance at the 30th Essence Festival of Culture. He told the crowd:

“Ayo, f**k them camera phones, too. Let’s get back to interacting like humans. Put them weird-a*s devices down. I ain’t from that era. Them s**ts don’t control the soul. F**k your phone.”

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Fantasia was recently named Best Actress for her performance as Celie in the film The Color Purple at the 55th annual NAACP Image Awards on Saturday, July 13.