An alleged stalker lunged towards Drew Barrymore while she was onstage for an interview with artist Reneé Rapp on Monday, video shows.
The man, who reportedly identified himself as Chad Michael Busto, interrupted the interview by shouting out from the audience, footage shared by TMZ shows. He managed to get Barrymore’s attention, and she stopped talking and looked up in the direction of his voice. She engaged with him momentarily and gave him a positive response before the situation took an abrupt turn.
The man can be seen moving towards the famous actress, demanding to speak with the star. “You know who I am, I need to see you at some point,” he says.
The interview went from calm to stressful very quickly. Rapp was initially lounging in her chair during the interview, but she became visibly tense and guarded. She slowly put her foot down while she evaluated the situation. As the man came closer to Barrymore, Rapp moved off her seat.
Barrymore looked utterly shocked by the situation. Rapp moved in Barrymore’s direction, putting her arm towards the star and ushering her backstage. The man continued to shout out for Barrymore’s attention, according to the clip.
Security guards came from the ground level as well the stage, and closed in on the alleged stalker as he continued shouting. Security managed to prevent him from gaining access to the stage. (RELATED: ‘Get The F*ck Off’: Topless Woman Storms The Juno Award Stage)
It’s unclear whether Barrymore had ever been approached by the man before, or if they have any sort of personal or professional history.
The situation was handled without police involvement and the alleged stalker was not arrested, TMZ reported, citing sources close to the matter.