Bruce Springsteen appeared to snub former New Jersey governor Chris Christie during a concert at Brooklyn's Barclays Center on Thursday night. The awkward moment came as Springsteen moved through the crowd during an encore, greeting fans and high-fiving audience members gathered along a walkway near the stage.
For a brief instant, Christie appeared hopeful that one of his musical heroes might acknowledge him in front of thousands of fans. Video from the concert showed Christie extending his hand toward the singer as he approached, but Springsteen walked directly past the former governor before continuing through the arena. Christie quickly pulled his hand back and began clapping along to the music as he attempted to shake off the snub.
The viral clip immediately sparked speculation online over whether the moment was an intentional snub from the famously outspoken rocker, who has spent much of his latest tour attacking President Donald Trump and his administration. The now-viral clip was captured by sports media personality Mike Ryan, who later wrote that he believed it was inevitable from the moment he spotted Christie standing near the stage.
'Bruce knew Chris Christie was there,' Ryan wrote in a lengthy account posted online after the concert. 'During multiple songs, Bruce would be on the far end of the stage, right in front of Christie, never once acknowledging Christie's presence.' Ryan, who said he has seen Springsteen perform roughly three dozen times, claimed the veteran rocker appeared energized during his latest tour as he continues hammering Trump and his administration from the stage.
'Springsteen's hatred of the current administration and its policies have rejuvenated him,' Ryan wrote. 'He is a man on a mission and he looks and sounds better than he did in 2023.' According to Ryan, the crowd interaction that led to the awkward moment unfolded during Springsteen's traditional performance of 'Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,' when the singer routinely moves into the audience to shake hands and high-five fans.
Ryan said he realized Springsteen's return route to the stage would bring him directly past Christie - and suspected the former governor would attempt to interact with him. 'I knew there's no way Chris Christie could resist trying to get a high five,' Ryan wrote. He added that Springsteen had spent much of the evening blasting an administration Christie once served under. 'There is no chance in hell Springsteen is going to give someone who used to work for this administration a public high five,' Ryan wrote.
Christie himself has long been known as one of Springsteen's most devoted celebrity fans, frequently attending concerts and publicly discussing his admiration for the singer and the E Street Band. Christie was once one of Trump's most prominent Republican allies before later becoming a sharp critic of the president. That history only made the moment more excruciating for viewers watching the clip unfold online.
Springsteen has become increasingly vocal in his criticism of Trump during his latest tour. Back in March, the singer blasted the Trump White House as a 'corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless and treasonous administration,' prompting Trump to lash out at the rock legend by calling him a 'dried up prune.'
