Robbie Williams admits “berating” wheelchair users for not standing at gig

nme.com:

Robbie Williams has admitted that he once “berated” crowd members at one of his shows for not standing up, before realising they were wheelchair users.During a recent interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, the pop star was asked to reveal his “most embarrassing” onstage moment.“It’s a really long story and you haven’t got time,” he responded.

Williams was then asked by actor Julia Stiles to “give us the short version”, to which he obliged.“So basically I confused the wheelchair section in my show for people that weren’t standing up and enjoying themselves,” he said. “And I berated them, and I got the whole audience to point at them and boo.”Williams went on to remember prompting those in attendance to “stamp their feet” and chant “Out!

Out! Out!” at the fans in question. The ‘Rock DJ’ artist recalled looking over to the side of the stage, where his manager was signalling him to stop.He eventually realised that he had made a mistake. “I was like, ‘Oh!

OK’,” Williams told Cohen and Stiles. “The way you get out of that is a ballad, definitely a ballad, definitely by doing ‘Angels’,” he added.According to Williams, the mix-up happened early on in his career before the camera phones had taken off. “That God!” replied both Cohen and Stiles.Last year saw Madonna experience a similarly awkward encounter during her ‘Celebration Tour’. “What are you doing sitting down over there?” she asked, pointing at the fan at the LA’s KIA Forum. “What are you doing sitting down?” After taking the microphone and walking to the edge of the stage, the realisation dawned on her. “Oh.