One performance at Reading Festival went down in history as a pop duo were sensationally bottled and had a wheelchair thrown at them, prompting an early exit off the stage
Hundreds of thousands of festivalgoers have pitched up at Reading Festival for a weekend of headliner acts from Travis Scott to Chappell Roan. While they’re set to attract huge crowds, there was a time when one noughties pop band sparked fury among fans, resulting in bottles and a wheelchair being thrown at them while performing at the notorious festival.
Daphne and Celeste, an American pop duo consisting of Celeste Cruz and Karen ‘Daphne’ DiConcetto, shot to fame with their debut single, ‘Ooh Stick You!’ in 2000. They later released their track ‘U.G.L.Y.’, which notoriously featured in the popular cheerleader movie ‘Bring It On’.
They found a huge fan base in the UK, and three of their tracks reached the top 20 in the UK singles chart. And so, they bagged themselves a slot to play at Reading Festival in August 2000. However, it didn’t quite go to plan.
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As the duo took to the stage, they were immediately hit with bottles of water, toilet paper, bottles of urine, and a bag of meat. Their controversial appearance also saw a wheelchair sensationally thrown at them.
But despite the crowd backlash, they managed to hold their own and even mocked the crowd. “You guys are such a good crowd,’ Celeste voiced at the time, while Daphne added, ‘I’m loving the signs. ‘Die!’ Yes, I will!’
For their safety, they only performed two of their three planned songs before swiftly leaving the stage. Karen later revealed: “Backstage, Slipknot and Rage Against the Machine were coming up to us and telling us how hardcore we were – how they wouldn’t have stayed out there.”
Fans had been outraged that the Reading Festival organisers had scheduled a pop band, also known as “bubble gum artists” at the time, rather than alternative artists that the event was famously known for. Others believed that their song ‘U.G.L.Y.’ promoted bullying.
The duo reflected back on their time at the festival in 2015, revealing that Celeste’s mother got hit during the outburst, and that it took three people to throw the wheelchair onto the stage.
“Because, of course, we invited our families along, not thinking at all how it would be for them! When we came off, my sister was crying!” Karen told The Guardian. In reference to the wheelchair that was thrown, she added, “Someone lost their mobility because they hated us so much!”
In 2015, three years after they had last performed together, the duo made a comeback and released their song ‘You And I Alone’. This followed their track ‘BB’ and a second album titled ‘Daphne & Celeste Save the World’, but neither found success as their first hits in 2000.
They have since stepped away from the spotlight. Karen, now 44, is married with a son and is said to be a screenwriter and a television producer. Meanwhile, Celeste, now 41, is reportedly still performing in a handful of small acting gigs and has a son with her husband.
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