Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas has gone viral after smashing his bandmate’s in-ear monitors by swinging his mic stand on stage. Watch the footage below.

The incident occurred during the Florida band’s performance at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield last Sunday (August 16).

In a fan-shot video that was subsequently posted on social media, Thomas is seen swinging his mic stand around above his head – unaware that guitarist Paul Doucette is standing behind him.

The singer then accidentally hits the musician in the head with the piece of equipment. Doucette is visibly in pain, and exits the stage to seek assistance for his injury.

“Every night I’m over here, and I’m throwing this Goddamn thing around,” Thomas told the audience afterwards. “It nailed him. Yeah, it nailed him hard. My best friend in the world, and I think I almost killed him, and I feel really bad about this.”

The vocalist asked the crowd to “give us one second” while Doucette recovered backstage, adding: “By the way, it felt like a really good idea right up until now. Throwin’ that shit around! I feel like an ass.”

When the guitarist returned to the stage with a glass of what appeared to be alcohol, he told Thomas: “I don’t know how many times I’ve told you about swinging that fucking thing. I knew it was only a matter of time.

“It’s been 30 years! Now, admittedly I’ve been in the back for the first half of that, and maybe I’ve gotta go back there because it’s obviously safer.”

Thomas then jokingly asked his bandmate if he was in “the danger zone”, before saying: “I think I know one thing I’m gonna stop doing.” Doucette responded by holding up his glass, quipping: “There’s one thing that’s gonna help me right now. It’s gonna be this.”

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A post shared by Paul Doucette (@repairmethod)

In a separate clip, Thomas is seen apologising to Doucette. “I’m so sorry. I’m gonna keep apologising to you, like, all month,” he said.

Later, the guitarist posted a video on his own Instagram page, showing people examining his ear with tweezers.

“So here’s what’s happening right now: Rob took me the fuck out with his swinging the fucking mic stand during that show, and I have bits of my in-ears – which he fuckin’ smashed – in my ear,” Doucette told his followers as someone removed the fragments.

“Oh, I fucking feel that. That is not fun. That is not fun. Please don’t move the bus!” After a piece was taken out, Doucette shouted: “Fuckin’ Rob!”