ICP Member Sued For Throwing Bottle

01/05/09 2:30pm

Insane Clown Posse member Violent J apparently lived up to his name and is being sued by a fan who claims that the rapper hit him in the eye with an unopened two-litre bottle of pop that was allegedly thrown into the crowd at a June 2007 concert in Fargo, N.D.

True ICP fans, who call themselves Juggalos, should know enough to be on the lookout for flying Faygo bottles at concerts by their clown-faced rap heroes. Not knowing bottles are going to fly into the audience at an ICP show is like not knowing you're going to get fake blood on you at a Gwar show, or syphilis at a Fall Out Boy show.

But it seems John Antonelli's devotion isn't as hardcore as others, as he's seeking at least $50,000 in damages in a lawsuit filed against Violent J (real name Joseph Bruce) and Playmakers, the venue where the incident occurred, which is now known as The Hub.

The suit claims Violent J was negligent because he threw the bottle without warning, and the club was negligent because it didn't provide sufficient security. Antonelli suffered a fracture to a bone near his right eye after he was hit.

A response from Playmakers agreed that Violent J threw the bottle into the crowd and injured Antonelli, but states that the rapper alone is to blame. Violent J hasn't responded to the suit.

The case is expected to go to trial in July if a settlement isn't reached beforehand.

Violent J was accused of repeatedly hitting a fan with a microphone at a 1997 concert in New Mexico. Violent J and musical partner Shaggy 2 Dope (real name Joseph Utsler) were fined $200 each a year later for getting into a fight with a customer at an Indiana Waffle House, making them role models for a fellow Michigan artist: rock-rapper Kid Rock.

Insane Clown Posse enjoyed their biggest success in the '90s and have sold more than 6.5 million albums in the U.S. and Canada since the release of their Carnival Of Carnage debut in 1992. Their last album, The Tempest, came out in 2007.