Critics call Dominic Fike “performative” after he brought his kid onstage at Lollapalooza
Dominic Fike's Lollapalooza performance took an unexpected turn when he brought his young son on stage, prompting cheers from the crowd...and side-eyes from the internet. While fans at the festival melted over the toddler's toy mic and dance moves, critics online accused the musician of using the moment for attention, labeling him the latest example of a "performative male."
Why are people calling Dominic Fike "performative"?
Social media found its latest pejorative obsession in the word "performative," starting last July. The "performative male" is any man who engages in an activity or publicly demonstrates a preference solely to attract the attention of women.
Classic signs of the performative male include drinking matcha, wearing a Labubu, reading in public, or donning wired headphones. Now, this apparently includes playing with your son.
Fike brought his son, whom many did not know existed, out to meet the crowd at Lollapalooza on August 3. After playing a few of his hits and a cover of Coldplay's "Yellow," he walked off and returned with the tot as the screens displayed the words, "Quiet please, baby on stage."
The rapper also brought out a few toys for his son, who wore protective headphones. X account Pop Crave posted a clip of fan footage that gained 15.8 million views in a couple of days.
Lollapalooza attendees seemed to love it, especially the ladies, who can be heard going "aww" across the crowd.
At the same time, the act of celebrities making spectacles of their children has fallen out of favor in recent years. People quickly posed questions on whether Fike did this out of love for his son, or to get attention.
"2025 performative male MVP"
Aside from those floored to find out that Fike has a kid and wondering who the mother is, folks found every reason possible to disapprove of his decision to bring the child on stage.
X user @pinkcubsss struggled with "the concept of bringing your child onstage during a festival and even having their toys up there with you as an way to introduce them to your fans."
Others jumped at the chance to call a guy performative. User @kksliderupdates dubbed him a "new level of performative male manipulator."
"This man might win the 2025 performative male mvp," agreed @afemeje.
User @yunglyssss said, "he would’ve won that performative man contest."
Meanwhile, @dayunki labeled Fike's stunt both "performative and exploitative."
Others were irritated at the interruption to what they came to see.
"Imagine you buy a lollapalooza ticket only for it to be a daycare," wrote @raereturns. "I’d throw all kinds of sh*t on stage I’m sorry."
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post Critics call Dominic Fike “performative” after he brought his kid onstage at Lollapalooza appeared first on The Daily Dot.