Spiritbox vocalist Courtney LaPlante has defended her decision to have a concertgoer removed during a show in Phoenix, after facing online criticism from people who assumed she had ejected the fan simply for moshing. LaPlante clarified on social media that the man had actually been punching other attendees in the head, making the ejection a safety measure rather than an objection to typical mosh-pit behaviour, which matters given ongoing debate about crowd conduct at metal shows.

The incident occurred on 15 July while Spiritbox were supporting Evanescence, with footage showing LaPlante asking the crowd to identify the man before directing security to remove him, telling the audience "this isn't a damn gold-medal karate match." She said security had already been alerted to the individual three times before she intervened, and pushed back against critics on X, explaining that the man was "punching people in head" in the VIP pit and that her onstage "karate" remark was a joke meant to ease tension rather than a comment on moshing itself.