Josh Homme: Queens of the Stone Age frontman kicks female photographer - BBC News
The rock star says he is sorry for kicking the female photographer, who says he did it on purpose.
Josh Homme performing in Los Angeles where the incident happened

Queens of the Stone Age musician Josh Homme has apologised after a female photographer said he kicked her in the head during a concert in Los Angeles.

Chelsea Lauren posted a video on social media showing Homme kicking her camera as she took pictures close to the stage on Saturday night.

"I now get to spend my night in the ER. Seriously, WHO DOES THAT?", she said.

In a statement, Homme apologised and said he would never intentionally cause harm to someone.

This Instagram post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Instagram The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip instagram post by chelsealaurenla This article contains content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Meta’s Instagram cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Ms Lauren described the "obviously very intentional" incident to Variety magazine.

"I saw him coming over and I was shooting away," she said. "He looked straight at me, swung his leg back pretty hard and full-blown kicked me in the face. "

She says she will file a police report.

Ms Lauren posted an update to Instagram along with two photographs she had taken seconds before the incident. She said her eyebrow was bruised and her neck was sore.

"I hold nobody accountable for this but Josh himself", she added.

Homme, 44, initially issued an apology through the Queens of the Stone Age Twitter account but following criticism the singer later shared an emotional video response, which has been posted on YouTube.

"I'd just like to apologise to Chelsea Lauren. I don't have any excuse or reason to justify what I did. I'm truly sorry and I hope you're okay," he said.

"I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, and last night was definitely one of them," Homme added.

In his earlier statement, he said that he was "in a state of being lost in performance" when he kicked over some equipment on stage and made contact with Ms Lauren.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post by QOTSA This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

But his post was criticised by some Twitter users, including Homme's friend, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, who branded it "weak".

Ms Lauren later thanked the Queens of the Stone Age fan base for their support following the incident.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser. View original content on Twitter The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Skip twitter post 2 by Chelsea Lauren This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Josh Homme was due to appear on the Bedtime Stories series on the BBC children's channel, CBeebies

The episodes featuring Homme will now not be aired "until the matter is resolved", a spokesperson for the channel said.

It is not the first time Homme has been criticised for his on-stage behaviour.

In 2008, he was accused of homophobia after insulting a fan during a concert in Norway. He had threatened to kick the fan in the face before throwing a bottle at him.