Supermarket Bans Sale of Kiwis After Harry Styles Slips On Stage

When Harry Styles gets on stage to perform his hit song Kiwi, he has more to dodge than the usual cliché of rock n’ roll undergarments.

According to The Telegraph, the former One Direction has been “pelted” with kiwis by fans, in a very literal interpretation of the song, which makes no actual mention of kiwis, other than in the title. In fact, the issue has gotten so serious, the Telegraph reports, that one UK grocery store has banned the sale of the fruit to people under the age of 25.

Earlier this week, video emerged of Styles apparently slipping on a kiwi while performing Kiwi in London, which the singer later confirmed when the song was over. “You may have seen me fall earlier during this song,” he reportedly told his audience. “It appeared to be a kiwi. That was the culprit, some green seedy mush. Look there’s another—this could end up being a problem.”

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HARRY FALLING DURING KIWI UGIHIH pic.twitter.com/6twccQIJFa

— Dani (@meandthestars_) November 1, 2017

After a similar incident in Manchester, it pushed grocer ASDA’s Hulme, Manchester location to do something about it. Their solution: Banning the sale of kiwis to anyone under the age of 25 and checking for ID.

“We know our customers love Harry Styles and we feel it’s our duty to protect a fellow Mancunian from any ‘bad kiwis’ amongst us,” an ASDA spokesperson said in a press released e-mailed to MUNCHIES, that was initially issued before the Manchester performance. “We’d hate to see a repeat of the mishap this evening, so to avoid any slippery situations, we feel this is a necessary measure.”

So, how does a supermarket go about enforcing such a kiwi ban? By relying on the keen eyes of their workers at the ASDA location closest to the O2 arena where Styles was stated to play.

“In terms of how it was enforced, ASDA staff were told to keep their eyes peeled on the day of the Manchester concert and request ID from anyone who looked under the age of 25 carrying out any suspicious looking kiwifruit activity,” ASDA clarified to MUNCHIES in an e-mail. “The kiwifruit surveillance only took place in the Hulme superstore, the closest store to the O2 Apollo Manchester.”