Morgan Wallen accidentally struck the wife of former Toronto Blue Jays slugger José Bautista with a bat during a pre-concert walkout at Rogers Centre, video shared to social media shows.
The incident occurred over the weekend during the second night of Wallen’s "I'm The Problem" tour stop in Toronto. Bautista, known as Joey Bats, walked out alongside Wallen and handed the singer a bat as part of the star-studded entrance ritual that has become a fixture of Wallen’s shows. Wallen took a practice swing, attempted to mimic Bautista’s signature bat flip and then tossed the bat, which struck Bautista’s wife, Neisha, according to a clip later posted to her Instagram account. In the recording, she can be heard screaming before someone off-camera asks if she is all right. She replies, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good."
Crowds at Rogers Centre reacted loudly, and the stadium screens showed the exchange as it unfolded. Wallen, 30, has frequently featured celebrity guests and sports figures in his pre-show walkouts, a practice that has included appearances by Barry Bonds, Steve Young, Brett Favre, Roger Clemens and Drake. Bautista’s 2015 bat flip after a playoff home run — an iconic moment in recent MLB history — is part of the reason he was invited to join the entrance.
Onstage wardrobe for the walkout reflected the baseball-theme: Wallen wore blue jeans, a red-and-white polo and cowboy boots, while Bautista sported a Blue Jays jersey and a black hat and carried the bat. The exchange took place backstage and at the stadium entry as the performers made their way to the stage.
Wallen’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The clip posted by Neisha Bautista drew attention on social media and in entertainment coverage the following day.
Wallen has a longstanding connection to baseball. He played as a pitcher at Gibbs High School in Tennessee before an ulnar collateral ligament injury ended his playing career in his senior year and led him to focus on music. In 2023, the Morgan Wallen Foundation donated $500,000 toward the revitalization of Nashville’s historic Parkwood Community Club, a project that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association Youth Development Foundation later helped bring to $1 million in total funding.
The Toronto stop was part of a larger North American tour that has included similarly elaborate and surprise-filled walkouts. The incident with Neisha Bautista was brief and, by her own account in the posted video, left her not seriously hurt. No further details about any follow-up were released by Wallen’s camp or by representatives for Bautista.
Footage of the moment circulated widely after it was posted to social media, prompting coverage by entertainment outlets and commentary from fans who witnessed the appearance at Rogers Centre.