British singer Morrissey was rushed away by security near the end of his concert Saturday night in San Diego after fans rushed the stage.
The former Smiths frontman was performing “Every Day Is Like Sunday” during an encore when several fans ran at him.
TMZ reported that Morrissey was "attacked" on stage and struck in the face by a male fan who was put in a chokehold by a security guard – but the singer’s manager Peter Katsis denied this on Facebook.
“Nobody tried to punch M last night. Morrissey's fans are not malicious,” he wrote. "The fans were simply doing what they have been doing for almost 30 years. Trying anything they could do to jump onstage and touch him, or hug him.
“The fan in question was certainly more aggressive in reaching out for him than most, so security had to do their job and subdue the fan. That's all it was. In the end no one was hurt, and no one was arrested.”
On Morrissey’s Facebook page, a man named Carlos Rodriguez claimed to be responsible. “I admit it looks bad but the momentum to get up did look as if it was aggressive,” he wrote. “I hugged him, Moz laughed and I was head locked. End of story.”
Morrissey is on tour until mid-December. The singer refuses to perform in Canada in protest of the annual commercial seal hunt.