Akon ‘feels super bad’ for throwing boy, 15, off stage: ‘Now I’m a lot more mature’-Tom Stichbury-Entertainment – Metro

‘The world will never let me forget it,’ Akon said of the 2008 incident (Picture: Supplied)

Chart-topper Akon regrets getting salty with a fan who reportedly pelted him with a pretzel during a gig in New York.

In 2008, the Smack That singer was slapped with a $350 fine and 65 hours of community service after throwing the alleged culprit, a boy of 15, off the stage.

‘The world will never let me forget it. Even though I feel super bad after my reaction to it – I’m a lot more mature,’ Akon, aka Aliaune Thiam, told Guilty Pleasures. ‘Unfortunately, at the time I was just young and very… I don’t know, my instincts took the best of me.’

Back with his EP TT Freak, in partnership with TikTok, the 49-year-old – who has had three UK No.1s – praised the platform for boosting his career. ‘My catalogue was one of the top-streaming catalogues on there,’ he said.

‘They had rejuvenated a record called Bananza. That record had been released almost 18 years ago and it never did anything!’

Born in Senegal, but raised in New Jersey, Akon will never take money for granted.

Akon used his music as the ‘key to escape poverty’ (Picture: PA)

‘The only fear I ever had was being broke,’ he explained. ‘I always use music as a vehicle to get to the business side of things, because I was always told that your gift is going to be the key to escaping poverty.’

Not that Akon, who does a lot of philanthropic work, hasn’t splurged in 
the past.

‘When I first came into the business, I blew through my money… bought a $65,000 car,’ he recalled, adding: ‘When you never had anything, the first thing you want to do is buy all the things you always wanted.’

More: Guilty Pleasures

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