Fan who tossed phone that hit Bebe Rexha in the face claims he wanted singer to catch the phone

Nicolas Malvagna, the 27-year-old New Jersey man who is accused of injuring Bebe Rexha by tossing his phone at her face while she was performing in New York City on Sunday, is claiming he had hoped Rexha would catch the device.

‘As a fan, Mr. Malvagna’s sole intention was to have Ms. Rexha take photos with his phone, and return it as a keepsake,’ his lawyer Todd A. Spodek told Dailymail.com. ‘It was never his intention to injure Ms. Rehxa.’

The incident unfolded as the 33-year-old singer was playing a concert Sunday at The Rooftop at Pier 17 on her Best F’n Night Of My Life tour.

Rexha, a Grammy-nominated artist, had been performing and was making her way to the front of the stage when she was smacked in the face by the device.

Authorities confirmed to DailyMail.com that Malvagna been arrested and charged with assault in connection with the incident in lower Manhattan.

The statement from Malvagna’s attorney comes on the heels of a criminal complaint filed against him by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.

In it, a witness said that Malvagna acknowledged to him that he threw the phone at the singer – and did it ‘because it would be funny.’

The witness told authorities that he asked after the incident ‘who threw the phone,’ and Malvagna raised his hand and admitted to it.

The witness said Malvagna told him, ‘I was trying to see if I could hit her with the phone at the end of the show because it would be funny.’

Following the incident Sunday, Malvagna was released on his own recognizance and ordered to keep his distance from the singer ahead of a court date on the matter July 31.

Malvagna faces up to a year in custody if convicted on the charges, DA press secretary Douglas Cohen said, according to NBC News.

Seconds after the incident Rexha, a Brooklyn native, fell to her knees with her head down as multiple crew members in the wings rushed to her aid before she was taken to hospital. 

Rexha was hospitalized and suffered ‘redness, swelling, bruising, and a laceration to her eye and substantial pain’ as result of being hit with the phone, according to police. 

In spite of the injuries, which were evident in a series of Rexha’s social media posts, the singer appeared prepared to forge on with her current tour.

She posted an advertisement on social media for her show at The Fillmore in Philadelphia Tuesday.

She has three other concert dates scheduled for the week ahead, including June 21 at The Fillmore Silver Spring in Silver Spring, Maryland; June 23 at the Tabernacle in Atlanta; and June 24 at the Hard Rock Live Orlando in Orlando, Florida.

Fans immediately alerted security to the man who allegedly threw the phone, who was then taken away by security. 

Other fans were quick to shout ‘that’s assault’ at him as he was taken away, as others started to boo and called him an ‘a**hole’.

A spokesman for the NYPD said: ‘On Sunday, June 18, 2023 at approximately 2200 hours, police were notified of an assault that occurred at the concert space of Pier 17 located at 89 South Street, within the confines of the 1st Precinct. 

‘A preliminary investigation on scene determined that a 27-year-old male intentionally threw a cell phone at a 33-year-old female performer on stage, striking her about the face. 

The statement continued: ‘The individual was taken into custody on scene and removed to the 1st Precinct for arrest processing. The aided female was removed by EMS to an area hospital in stable condition.’

Videos posted to Twitter showed the entertainer, whose full name is Bleta Rexha, being helped off the stage after the incident.

As she was being tended to by medics and being led behind the curtain at the venue, she gave the audience a wave. 

‘This is Bebe Rexha being rushed out of the concert venue here in NYC after someone threw a f***ing phone and hit her face as she was leaving the stage,’ the Twitter user captioned the clip. 

‘We were all having a hell of a good time and so was Bebe, we were all having a blast, I mean who would even do that??? We hope you’re ok @BebeRexha.’

A tweet from the account Pop Base read: ‘Bebe Rexha’s mother reveals that she had to get three stitches after someone in the audience threw a phone at her head during her concert.’

Dozens of Rexha’s fans took to Twitter to vent about the senseless attack on the pop star.

‘Bebe is literally one of the sweetest and most unproblematic people in the music industry she doesn’t deserve this… some of y’all really need to leave her alone omg,’ one fan wrote.

Another fan of the Baby, I’m Jealous performer wrote, ‘Absolutely great show ruined by a fan throwing their phone at @BebeRexha hopefully she is ok after that.’

One fan complained about the lack of decorum on the part of the fan who pitched the phone onstage, while another questioned why and how something like this could happen. 

”Fans’ suck so bad because what do you mean Bebe Rexha had to go to the f***ing hospital and get stitches in her head because someone threw a phone at her and it hit her???? What the f***???’ the fan said. 

Another fan called Rexha ‘literally one of the sweetest and most unproblematic people in the music industry,’ adding, ‘she doesn’t deserve this.’

Said another fan: ‘Bebe Rexha really deserves better… between this and the audience not showing any visible signs of care. 

‘Like idc if they paid $6 to come see her, at the end of the day, they gotta show some respect…’

The singer recently made headlines after she revealed she gained 30 pounds following a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome. 

‘I went to the doctor last year – and a lot of women actually have this and they don’t know about it – but they diagnosed me with PCOS, which is polycystic ovary syndrome,’ the singer said during a May 25 appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show.

She delved into more detail about the health issue: ‘It’s one of the leading causes of why women gain weight and are obese.

‘I literally jumped, like, 30 pounds so quickly, maybe a little bit more. But we got to just be positive and just show people love.’

In the appearance on the talk show, Rexha opened up about how she processes the public scrutiny on her weight gain in the form of social media comments.

‘Listen, we’re in the public eye, so that’s bound to happen,’ she said. ‘I was a lot thinner and I did gain some weight – that comes with the territory. I’m not mad about it because it is true, but when you see things like that, it does mess with you.’

She continued: ‘You don’t know what somebody’s going through, what they’re going through in their life, so it kind of is tough.’

Rexha said that she feels in current times, ‘We should not be talking about people’s weight.’

Last month, the I’m Good (Blue) artist spoke about living with PCOS while appearing on Gayle King in the House on SiriusXM.

‘It’s tough – I think for me, I’ve been definitely struggling with my weight and I’ve been struggling with food forever,’ Rexha said.

She cited her past experience, noting the obsession with weight that music industry leaders had demonstrated toward her, with their suggestions.

‘I remember starting out and getting my first record deal, and ever since then, they kind of put it in my head, and they said to me when I first got signed, ‘Are you ready to get into bootcamp shape? Because you need to lose 20 pounds in order to do this career; like you have to lose weight,” she recalled.