Blankenship talks to WKRN-TVNote to all the superfans out there: Be careful just how much you choose to emulate your favorite star. If you're like one Kenny Chesney fan out there, your efforts just might get you kicked out of a show.
Yep, that's exactly what happened to Nathan Blankenship. The Nashville-area resident, a schoolteacher who's the same age as and bears a passing resemblance to Chesney, apparently caused such a ruckus in the crowd at Chesney's hometown show Saturday that he was rudely escorted out by security.
The reason? Blankenship told local news station WKRN that a security officer accused him of "deliberately trying to impersonate a celebrity."
Blankenship added that he's been to Chesney's shows before, and that fans often mistake him for the country superstar. "Here or there somebody asked to take a picture to make their friends or family think they were with Kenny," he explained.
However, he insisted that he was by no means trying to impersonate Chesney. "I can't help the way I look," he noted. "Is it because I wear the hat? I see a million of these hats [at concerts]...I can't believe they think I'm actually him."
The real Kenny Chesney
An executive for the show's venue told WKRN that fans have reportedly complained about Blankenship at previous concerts, finding him to be disruptive. (Blankenship denied this, stating that he hasn't been to a Chesney concert in four years.)
Chesney's record label and concert promoters reached out to Blankenship after hearing about the incident and offered to refund the cost of his $200 ticket, as well as sweeten the apology with some free CDs.
Blankenship accepted the olive branch, but had one final thing to say on the matter.
"I will continue to be a Kenny Chesney fan," he noted. "However, the next concert I do attend will be one where the artist does not look similar to me."
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