Burna Boy’s recent display at his Denver concert, halting his set to eject a couple because he saw the woman sleeping front row, is more than just a one-off controversy. It’s the latest in a string of incidents that suggest a deeper problem, a superstar so intoxicated by his own persona that he forgets he’s playing for real people, not a hype machine.
When he publicly called for their removal, saying, “Walahi, I’m not doing another song until they go home,” he framed their supposed disengagement as a personal affront. But here’s the thing, these were paying fans, not cardboard cutouts. He stopped, pointed, and shamed them, live, onstage, with the microphone in his hand.
This isn’t the first time Burna Boy’s treatment of his audience has raised eyebrows. Back in 2019, he returned a fan’s money and kicked him out of a concert in Atlanta simply because he wasn’t dancing “hard enough.” Then there was the infamous club incident where his security allegedly opened fire.These patterns speak to a talent that’s world-class, and an ego that’s unchecked.
What’s most frustrating is how his reaction now ignores context. Some have since revealed that the sleeping fan had been grieving the death of her child’s father. Rather than show compassion, Burna Boy chose humiliation. As one Reddit commenter put it: “He calls her out for sleeping? Maybe she’s dealing with more than fatigue.”
Critics have called him entitled, arrogant, even emotionally volatile. Even Eminem weighed in, condemning his behavior as “not cool.” When a global icon publicly demands that a paying couple be removed for simply falling asleep, he isn’t just enforcing stage energy, he’s abusing the platform of his own power.
This isn’t just about Burna’s own brand of “no sign of weakness”, it’s about how he perceives his fans, as props for his performance, not as human beings deserving respect. If he truly loves his audience, he should accept that not everyone can or will vibe 100% every moment. Real respect means having boundaries, but also empathy.
Burna Boy calls himself the African Giant, but in moments like this, he feels more like a king disconnected from his people. He has the power to shape how we see Afrobeats on the global stage, but he also has a responsibility to treat his fans like they matter, even when they’re just quietly sitting (or, yes, sleeping).