Japanese fans angry after two models filmed themselves dancing and recorded part of a Bruno Mars concert, upsetting the singer and causing him to throw a towel at them.

Fans in Japan of Grammy-award winning superstar Bruno Mars are none too pleased with an incident at the recent leg of the "Bruno Mars 24K MAGIC WORLD TOUR 2018" performances that occurred at the Saitama Super Arena.

Several women, at least five believed to be fashion models Moueka Nozaki, Nanaka, Satoumi, Mao Miyashita, and Maria Tani, have been seen in several self-recorded videos dancing along to an ongoing part of the performance, which is also recorded in the video. At the end of one of the recordings, an upset Bruno Mars hurls a towel at the phone (on a selfie stick) in use in an apparent plea to halt their recording. Text at the end of the video, "OMG!!! I GOT THIS!!!!" indicates that Nozaki, who posted the video, interpreted the thrown towel as a gift or fan service.

According to comments on Twitter from those at the concert, the girls, with their backs to the stage, were oblivious to instructions and gestures made by Mars himself to put away their cell phones (and apparently for everyone to dance together), which lead to the singer chucking a towel at them. While the towel-fastball seems to have concluded the incident at the concert, Japanese fans of Bruno Mars are expressing anger over how the models in attendance are reflecting upon the exchange. Nozaki uploaded the video to Instagram herself (it's since been deleted), and apparently only initially deleted celebratory comments, while the other models have voiced no contrition over the incident. (Many artists and venues in Japan strictly prohibit filming and photography--while cell phones are sometimes ok, selfie sticks are outright banned.)

Outcry on social media focuses on the models being disrespectful, but also concerned about leaving Mars with a negative impression of Japan.

"How many tens of thousands of pure Bruno Mars fans behind you do you think there are? While we're expressing our gratitude and fun, what are you doing? You're in the very front row. He can see you. Because of your actions the entire country gets a bad image. More than anything, Bruno himself was telling you to stop."

"Just for this day, I bought a membership fee to apply for the VIP SS tickets, and even though I was really looking forward to it, in the end I missed out on them. Reading about this, I'm very disappointed. We're the actual fans. More importantly, this is rude to Bruno Mars. This is very unfortunate. As an entertainer, please have some manners."

"How was your concert just to find something Instagrammable?

Bruno Mars enjoys a large measure of popularity in Japan, having visited for concerts and television appearances several times, which may have led to his fans in Japan being sensitive to his stance concert attendees who can't separate themselves from their phone:

Timing of the incident also broadens the spotlight on a trending concern in Japan of social media being prioritized over manners. Entertainers on Japanese television have recently gathered support for speaking out against those who prioritize getting the perfect food picture over Japanese dining etiquette (such as saying "itadakimasu"), or breaking branches off of cherished cherry blossoms for sakura selfies.

Major concerts in Japan typically have explicit warnings about video recording or photography at events, so this would be unfortunate if needed as a reminder to abide by the rules--it does, however, further discussion about concerns about social media behavior in Japan, and is a good headsup to the fact that Bruno Mars shoots from the hip with his towels.