Tom Petty Offers To Pay Fans Out Of Pocket For Shut Down Show [Video]

Tom Petty is a real champ in our book after promising heart-broken fans their money back, even if he has to pay out of pocket, after a Hollywood show was shut down by fire marshals.

On Saturday night, Tom Petty was playing a show at Hollywood’s Fonda Theatre. He was given no choice but to “back down” after the Los Angeles Fire Department shut the show down barely an hour into the set. They had determined that the venue was filled beyond its capacity by 100 people, and stopped the show.

Petty was embarrassed by the show’s abrupt cancellation, and promised to pay concert attendees back, even if it has to come out of his own wallet.

“If it has to come out of my own pocket everyone will get reimbursed,” he said.

Concertgoers were reportedly asked if anyone was willing to either leave or move to the balcony, but no one was willing to budge.

“It was disappointing,” one audience member said. The show was to run from 9 to 11:15pm, “but we all got kicked out just before 10.30. We thought they were kidding when we got told we had to leave.”

Petty later said that he had spent the remainder of Saturday evening dealing with the issue.

“I am sure you heard about last night. Its actually all I have heard about since. Up all night talking about it,” he explained. “I don’t like point fingers or blame… But it wasn’t me. I can guarantee we finish our set tonight.”

Petty issued a statement Sunday, in which he sympathized with fans, but said that safety is his utmost priority during a performance.

“To those fans who attended last night’s show at the Fonda Theatre, we are as frustrated as you are,” it said. “While we are still investigating exactly what happened we do know the following as of right now the number of tickets sold was NOT above the legal capacity of the building. The venue and Ticketmaster documentation confirms this. The Fire Marshal decided that the number of people on the floor (as opposed to on the upstairs balcony or terrace) was unsafe.”

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[Image via: Steve White Photos / Shutterstock]