full size Madonna Performs During the Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show on February 5, 2012
Credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images

No one will ever accuse Madonna of shying away from a chance to shock people.

During her show at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Thursday, Madonna used "a fake gun to shoot a masked gunman," followed by "images of blood splattering on a large screen behind the stage," according to the Washington Post. This came during the performance of her song "Gang Bang," which contains the lyric, "Shot my lover in the head."

To some concertgoers, this was too reminiscent of the July 20 shooting in nearby Aurora, CO, in which a gunman killed 12 people and injured many others at a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

"We all just stood there," says audience member Aaron Fransua, 25, about Madonna's simulated gun attack. "Everybody who was around me all had shock on their face. I heard a lot of ‘wows.’"

full size Madonna
Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Mile High Sports Radio Denver personality Peter Burns, who was also in attendance, says that the skit caused several audience members to actually walk out of the show. “I heard the word ‘Colorado,’ you know, ‘Aurora,’ ‘shooting,’" Peter says about fans' reactions. "You could hear people talking about it and it was little bit unsettling. I saw two or three people get up and grab their stuff and actually leave their seats."

Peter, whose friend died in the Aurora shooting, says, "It sort of hits closer to home for me."

Madonna's press agent, Liz Rosenberg, responded by saying that Madonna just likes to stir things up. "Madonna does not make things pretty and tie them up with a bow," Liz says.

Source: Washington Post

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