This subway performance went off the rails in a matter of minutes.
A former “American Idol” contestant stood his ground after a disgruntled passenger allegedly “attacked” him on a Manhattan A train—and eventually won over an entire subway car, a viral video shows.
Shane Dan Turner, 29, was busking between 125th Street and Columbus Circle on Wednesday afternoon when a woman who said his music was too loud grabbed money from his tip case and attempted to drown him out by singing at full volume, according to the video.
“That was me being attacked by a mentally ill woman,” Turner said while resharing the footage, which includes an explanation at the end.
The clip opens with the woman tussling with Turner and asking fellow riders to “make him stop” playing. She also claimed she had recently undergone surgery on her “f–king ear.”
Another passenger can be heard telling the woman to “get your ass off the train” and suggesting she use Access-A-Ride, arguing that she “shouldn’t be on the train” if she had just had ear surgery.
As the two women exchanged vulgar insults, Turner replaced a broken guitar string and began playing “I Don’t Love You” by My Chemical Romance. He later said he chose the song hoping it would “piss [her] off and try to get [her] to leave” the train car during the A’s long express trip from Harlem to Midtown.
Undeterred, the woman continued singing at full volume, overpowering the professional performer as previously disengaged passengers began watching and laughing.
“This woman has lungs that I couldn’t compete with without a microphone,” Turner wrote on Instagram.
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“This woman’s complaining about ear surgery and she’s screaming at the top of her lungs.”
Turner, who competed on Season 23 of “American Idol” last year, said the bizarre New York City encounter began when the woman tried to sing over him and then commented on a pin he was wearing that read, “I’m autistic, awkwardness may occur.”
“She sees the pin and goes, ‘You’re applauding an autistic guy, he’s probably just wearing that for marketing,’” Turner recounted.
According to Turner, he told the woman he was “actually autistic,” prompting her to respond, “That’s disgusting and narcissistic.” He also said she reached into his guitar case and grabbed at his tips.
By the end of the video, Turner had won the support of the crowded subway car. Fellow New Yorkers applauded, offered words of encouragement and handed him tips.
“They were giving me tips in my hand because they knew this woman was trying to grab it from my tip case,” he said.
The singer told his followers that he lives with several mental health conditions, but said he believed the woman who allegedly tried to disrupt his performance and take his money was the one who needed help.
“I got nothing on this person,” Turner said.
“I just wish she gets the help she needs; she was probably just having a very bad day.”