Charli XCX Comes Under Fire for Health Concern in Surprise NYC Performance: ‘Super Disturbing’

Singer Charli XCX, who took over pop culture this past summer with her album Brat, is facing backlash over a health concern during a surprise set in New York City's Times Square.

The 32-year-old stunned fans with a performance in the city on Monday, Nov. 18, that was announced only 30 minutes before the start time—but one detail caught fans' attention for the wrong reason.

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As news of the show spread on social media, fans saw a video clip of Charli XCX performing "365" with text on screens over the crowd reading "PARTY GIRL" continually flashing in black and white.

The jarring visual had some questioning if there should've been a warning to fans ahead of time, as it could've been a danger to people with photosensitive epilepsy.

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One such fan wrote, "not to be the friend thats too woke but huge flashing lights in a public space with no warning isn't a good idea maybe."

Some fans defended Charli XCX, claiming that Times Square "is literally huge flashing lights 24/7," but a fan replied, "There’s a difference between big screens showing ads and big screens showing flashing lights."

Someone else noted, "Times Square doesn’t have strobing lights like THIS though."

There were many more fans online who agreed that the concert's visual could be a danger to fans with specific sensitivities, with comments like, "No where was the epilepsy warning sksksksksk," and "That's super disturbing actually 😑 wow."

Another said, "im ngl i think it's really cool that this happened but massive strobe effects in a public place without prior warning is a REALLY dangerous and irresponsible thing to do."

At the time of writing, Charli XCX had not publicly responded to any of the criticism.

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