Pop-punk band Fall Out Boy has generated a bit of controversy after performing a bizarre tribute that showed footage of the crash that killed Princess Diana.
Just seen @falloutboy in Birmingham. Don’t really see the need for the Princess Diana montage, brought the night down a bit
— Nik Thompson (@mimmblewimmble) March 27, 2018
To make the situation even more awkward, the footage, which reportedly also features clips of Diana’s funeral, has been shown at gigs the band has been performing in the United Kingdom, as reported by The Daily Mail.
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The montage runs as the band plays a song, titled “Champion,” which features lyrics such as, “I’m a champion of the people who don’t believe in champions” and “If I can live through this I can do anything.”
Fans took to Twitter to share their confusion about the clips, with one fan tweeting, “[Fall Out Boy] were amazing yesterday, but why the random tribute to Princess Diana? Did the American tour get JFK?”
Genuinely still confused about fall out boy using images of princess Diana and prince harry last night?? Why??? pic.twitter.com/DvRZFRB5Z4
— Emma ❃ (@emmalberger) March 28, 2018
The outlet also quoted one concertgoer who spoke with reporters and said, “It’s safe to save revellers were confused by this… when it became clear what was happening some went quiet and started shuffling, looking down at their feet, wishing the next song would come on.”
“It was totally bizarre, more than a little creepy. There seemed to be no explanation for Di’s haunting appearance at the gig,” the concert attendee added. “What were they thinking?”
And another weird thing about Fall Out Boy last night was the backdrop video they had playing when they were performing Champion. It was all Princess Diana and I was like what??????
— Kim 🐱 (@kimkr14) March 6, 2018
It seems that the band’s intentions were not necessarily to be provocative or cause controversy, as bassist Pete Wentz previously spoke about the decision to include a Princess Diana montage during live performances of “Champion.”
“Well, when we write the songs I always think of visuals that go with the songs in my head,” Wetz told journalists. “It’s always cinematic to me, ya know, the songs feel like that. And each song has a specific visual for the most part already.”
“With Princess Di, I always thought with that song (‘Champion’), the chorus and particularly ‘I am the champion, of the people who don’t believe in champions,’” he added. “I always thought of Princess Di with that.”
