The lead singer of rock band Alien Ant Farm has been charged with a battery after he strangely pulled a male fan’s hand in his crotch during a concert in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Dryden Mitchell, frontman of the once-chart-topping group best known for their 2001 remake of Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal,” will be performing on October 29 at a high-end performing arts event. Inexplicably held a fan’s hand while playing a cover of a hit at the Broward Center. He reached out and put it on his crotch.
Now, in a YouTube video of the performance, which is key evidence against Mitchell, fans can be seen quickly pulling their hands out of the lead singer’s grip.
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Alien Ant Farm lead singer Dryden Mitchell was charged with batteries after he was seen pulling a fan’s hand up to his crotch during a performance in Fort Lauderdale in October.
The October 29th incident was captured in a video posted on YouTube and now serves as key evidence against Mitchell. As Mitchell puts the fan to his crotch, the fan is seen in the crowd with his hands up in the air.The man then quickly pulled his hand
The lightning-quick encounter went unnoticed on the show, and the band’s set ended after a while.
But just over two weeks later, on November 15, a fan, a 45-year-old Miami man, went to the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and accused Mitchell of assaulting him.
A fan reached out by phone told DailyMail.com he didn’t know what prompted Mitchell to do what he did and said he would refrain from commenting further.
“I want to tell my story, but I need to listen to a civil lawyer,” said a man whose name was not released in a police report of the incident obtained by DailyMail.com.
“I’ll gladly tell you later. What happened wasn’t right, and I want the story out there.
Part of his story was in a police report released after the Broward State Attorney’s Office filed a first-degree misdemeanor charge against Mitchell on December 30, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison. detailed.
‘[The fan] He raised his fist in the air and said he was about to take a picture with Mitchell,” police wrote.
The Broward County Attorney’s Office filed a first-degree misdemeanor charge against Mitchell on December 30, carrying a maximum sentence of one year in prison.
A copy of the Fort Lauderdale police incident report obtained by DailyMail.com does not list the victim’s name under Marcy’s law.
Mitchell not yet booked for battery charge filed in absentia
‘[He] He advised that Mitchell grabbed a fist in the air and pulled the fist into the genital area of his pants. [He] He said he let go of his hand at that point.
Fan told police she decided to report the crime after the fact because “it didn’t go well with him.”
‘[He] He said he did not feel this was appropriate behavior in front of all the concertgoers and that there were children among the crowd,” police wrote.'[The fan] He advised me to report the incident to the police.
Attempts to reach Mitchell, who lives in Riverside, Calif., via phone and his booking agent, New York-based TKO, were unsuccessful.
A detailed message asking for comment was left with an agency representative and was not returned.
This isn’t the first incident involving the band’s and fans’ alleged battery.
When Alien Ant Farm were touring the UK in 2016, quartet guitarist Terry Corso attacked fans at a show in the North West town. Chester after a fan threw liquid at him.
Corso said he thought the liquid was urine because Mitchell had spilled it at a show in Preston just two days earlier.
The guitarist burst into the crowd and punched a fan.
A married father of two, Mitchell was a founding member of Alien Ant Farm, founded in Riverside in 1996.
The man reportedly told police that Mitchell thrust his fist into his genitals while he was trying to take a picture with him.
The rock band consisting of Tim Pugh, Mike Cosgrove, Dryden Mitchell and Terry Corso formed in Riverside, California in 1996.
The band’s first studio work was named Best Independent Album at the 1999 LA Music Awards, but it was their second album, ANThology, that achieved greater success.
The “Smooth Criminal” track reached #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, #1 in Australia and #3 in the UK.
The song was featured in the movie American Pie 2 (the memorable scene where Jason Biggs’ character superglues his hand to his crotch) and has since racked up 267 million views on YouTube.
The song unexpectedly went viral again last summer, and the LA Times ran a Q&A with Mitchell in June.
“When it was down, it was some big issues,” Mitchell told The Times of his early stardom.
“We were flying around the world doing what we loved. We were so cocky. I wasn’t thinking about being 46.” [self] at that time. I am a dad now!
Another song from the album, “Movies”, became the band’s second most popular song, charting in the top five in the UK with 22 million views on YouTube.
While touring in Spain in 2002, the band was involved in a bus crash that killed the driver and injured the band members.
Mitchell suffered the worst injury of the group, breaking a vertebra in his back. He was airlifted to a hospital in London and underwent surgery in Los Angeles, after which he recovered for the most part.
Alien Ant Farm has since released three albums, including their latest in 2015, but none have come close to ANThology’s popularity.
In 2020, the band released a COVID-19-era remake of Wham’s “Everything She Wants,” which has amassed half a million views on YouTube.
Mitchell has not yet been booked for a battery charge filed in absentia.
Defendants in such cases are regularly notified to appear in court, but they have not yet appeared in this case, and a court date has not yet been set.