NYC Subway Rider Berates ‘American Idol’ Contestant in Viral Confrontation
This subway performance went off the rails almost immediately.
A former “American Idol” contestant stood his ground after a fellow passenger allegedly disrupted his performance and grabbed at his tips on an A train in Manhattan. By the end of the encounter, a viral video showed the musician winning over the entire subway car.
Shane Dan Turner, 29, was busking between 125th Street and Columbus Circle on Wednesday afternoon when a woman complained that his music was too painful for her ears. According to the video, she seized money from his tip case and began singing loudly over him.
“That was me being attacked by a mentally ill woman,” Turner wrote while reposting the footage, adding an explanation at the end of the clip.
The video opens with the woman arguing with Turner and pleading with other passengers to “make him stop” playing. She also claimed she had recently undergone surgery on her ear.
Another passenger fired back, telling the woman to “get your ass off the train” and suggesting she use Access-A-Ride, arguing that someone recovering from ear surgery should not be riding the subway.
As the exchange escalated into a string of profanities, Turner replaced a broken guitar string and began playing “I Don’t Love You” by My Chemical Romance. He later said he chose the song in hopes of irritating the woman enough to move to another car during the A train’s express run from Harlem to Midtown.
But the woman did not back down. She sang at full volume, overpowering the musician while other riders—many of whom had initially ignored the confrontation—began watching with amusement.
“This woman has lungs that I couldn’t compete with without a microphone,” Turner wrote on Instagram.
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“She was complaining about having ear surgery, yet she was screaming at the top of her lungs.”
Turner, who appeared on Season 23 of “American Idol” last year, said the bizarre confrontation began when the woman tried to sing over his performance and then commented on a pin he was wearing that read, “I’m autistic, awkwardness may occur.”
“She sees the pin and goes, ‘You’re applauding an autistic guy; he’s probably just wearing that for marketing,’” Turner recalled.
Turner said he told the woman he was autistic, prompting her to respond, “That’s disgusting and narcissistic.” He also alleged that she reached into his case and grabbed at his tips.
By the end of the video, Turner had won the support of the packed subway car. Fellow passengers applauded, encouraged him and handed him money directly.
“They were giving me tips in my hand because they knew this woman was trying to grab them from my tip case,” he said.
Turner told his followers that he lives with several mental health conditions, but said he believed the woman who disrupted his performance and allegedly tried to take his money was the person in need of support.
“I got nothing on this person,” Turner said.
“I just hope she gets the help she needs. She was probably just having a very bad day.”
