Madison Square Garden was in shambles this weekend, and all it took was one chicken nugget. A chicken nugget that, considering Madison Square Garden’s food prices, probably cost around $10 alone. When a fan tossed the tender on stage for Harry Styles—a little snack for the hungry boy—the whole stadium devolved into chaos.
You can imagine why: Harry Styles is a pescatarian. Known to interact with the dedicated fans that manage to get front-row spots at his shows, it should not come as a shock that Styles actually plucked the chicken tender from the stage, held it up to the masses at MSG, and did a little bit.
“Interesting, very interesting approach. Who threw the chicken nugget?” Styles said as the crowd chanted, begging for him to eat it. “I don’t eat chicken.”
Right, no chicken, though he will eat other random food that’s landed on the floor in front of him.
“First of all, this is cold,” he continued. “And I’m assuming very old. Would you like it back?”
“Yes,” the fan presumably nodded, “give me back the cold, dirty, Harry Styles-laced nugget so that I can keep it forever, even after it’s completely molded over.” Styles did throw them back the nugget, though he begged them not to eat it before continuing on with his set.
As we mentioned, this is part of the appeal of a Harry Styles concert, apparently. Beyond the joy of watching the singer/soon-to-be actor sing and dance, he actually interacts with the crowds of attention-starved fans. Love on Tour attendees will craft absolutely bonkers signs to get his attention. (Some are cute, I must admit, like fans asking Harry to help them come out to their parents.)
This chicken nugget affair is one of many attempts to garner 30 seconds of Styles’ attention. Earlier this year, for example, one fan begged Styles to be his on-tour doctor when she finished med school. He rejected her request. Others beg Styles to kick them in the face or to punch them. Some even say they skipped their grandma’s funeral to see him on tour.
The fact that Styles can see these posters without even flinching? I respect him, but I also fear him. The performer’s 15-day jaunt at MSG has led to an onslaught of TikToks about him similar to the Alabama Rushtok trend: Fans flaunt their showy outfits, heart-shaped sunglasses, and, of course, posters. I’m infatuated by their dedication to these concerts, like they’re training for a marathon or preparing for a big high school theater production.
And just like Bama Rushtok, jokesters on TikTok have already started parodying Harry Styles’ poster reactions. This specific video has lived in my mind for the past few days, playing as a loop as fans continue to raise the stakes.
“What does your sign say?” the comedian says, acting like Styles. “‘Harry, this is my first concert. Please pull my teeth out!’ I don’t know. Should we pull her teeth out? Should we? I guess we’re pulling her teeth out,” he says, pulling out a dental extraction tool.
This is a joke, yes, but we’re about five news cycles away from Harry Styles actually extracting teeth at his concert. Why are the Styles fans this feral? While we can’t say for certain—perhaps one fan did it successfully and the stampede followed—my best bet is that the drive stems from One Direction fanfiction. You don’t need to read an entire Wattpad story (at least, I never did) to know that the meet cute was always at a concert.
This was the dream: While Harry Styles performed with the four other fellas, he’d notice a beautiful woman in the crowd. He’d stop the show. He’d pull her on stage. And, right then, he’d drop to one knee and propose to this stranger on the spot. (Wait, isn’t this the plot of Marry Me?)
These fanfictions exist, and I think the Harry Styles fans took them way too seriously. Harry Styles is not going to fall in love with you if you write a poster that says, “Harry, should I kill my annoying neighbor?” He is going to laugh at your poster, you will be added to a watch list, and then Harry will go have dinner with his girlfriend, Olivia Wilde, or he’ll go run lines for the upcoming limited press tour with Miss Flo.
But don’t stop writing these posters, and keep the chicken nuggets flying. Though some of us never made it past the Ticketmaster Verified Fan Presale for his Madison Square Garden, we’re watching from the sidelines—and it is, admittedly, hilarious. What’s next? Katy Perry’s going to throw a slice of pizza at Harry Styles?
