The Killers rock group from the United States has apologized after lead singer and bassist Brandon Flowers invited a fan from Russia onstage during a concert in the Georgian resort city of Batumi, drawing a chorus of boos as he tried to unite the crowd by saying they were all "brothers and sisters."
Honoring a band tradition to invite a fan from the audience to play drums with them while performing a song, Flowers noticed a man at the August 14 concert holding a poster reading "If destiny is kind, I'll be your drummer tonight" and brought him to the stage to play the song For Reasons Unknown.
After the man introduced himself as a Russian citizen, Flowers said he had no problem with that and asked the audience for their opinion on the matter.
"We don't know the etiquette of this land, but this guy's a Russian. You OK with a Russian coming up here?" he asked.
Many fans began protesting and demanded the Russian leave the stage but the group carried on and performed the song amid protesting shouts and whistles.
Georgia and Russia have long had tense relations -- the two fought a war in 2008 and Russia still occupies part of the country. Meanwhile many Russians have fled to Georgia to escape military conscription and a clampdown on free speech since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Flowers tried to calm down the audience, asking for unity among the group's fans, and calling them "brothers and sisters," after which some of the audience began leaving the concert chanting "F...ck Russia" and "Russia is an occupier."
The Killers followed up on August 15 issuing a statement on Instagram saying "we did not mean to upset anyone and we apologize."
"We recognize that a comment, meant to suggest that all of The Killers' audience and fans are 'brothers and sisters' could be misconstrued.... We stand with you and hope to return soon," the statement said.
Last month, Georgian protesters forced the Astoria Grande cruise ship, carrying some 800 passengers including Russians, to leave the port in Batumi where it had arrived from the Russia seaside city of Sochi.
SEE ALSO: Russian Cruise Ship Meets Protests In GeorgiaProtests in Batumi and in the South Caucasus nation's capital, Tbilisi, broke out on July 27 after some Russian tourists on the ship told Georgian media that they supported Russia's 2008 war against Georgia that ended with Russia's recognition of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Moscow still has troops in the two region.
Public opinion in Georgia also overwhelmingly supports Ukraine in the war with Russia.