Def Leppard’s Rick Allen Says Life’s ‘Been Difficult’ Since 2023 Attack

• Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen says he’s “been trying to deal with” his 2023 attack
• Allen was randomly attacked outside his hotel in Florida, and his his head on the pavement when a stranger pushed him over
• The musician said he’s trying not to “bite off more” than he can chew

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen is opening up about the lingering effects of being randomly attacked on the street in Florida in 2023.

The British rocker, 61, was standing outside his hotel in March 2023 when he was shoved to the ground by a teenage tourist and fell, hitting his head on the ground.

Now, two years later, Allen said the incident still haunts him, and he’s doing his best to move on.

“I’ve been going through some challenging times, kind of related to what happened in Florida,” he said on SiriusXM’s Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk, according to Blabbermouth. “And that whole thing is kind of ongoing, when I got beaten up outside the hotel. So I’ve been trying to deal with that the best that I can, and really I just needed to take a break from some of the side projects that I was busy with, just so I could spend more time at home.”

Though Allen joined Def Leppard on its stadium tour last summer and will do so again when they hit the road in May, he said working on other projects has taken a toll.

“That’s been a real challenge for me. Hopefully I can put it all behind me and I can just kind of get back to as normal as I could possibly be given the circumstances,” he said. “But that was very traumatic for me, and yeah, it’s been difficult. But hopefully I can put it behind me soon.”

The drummer said he’d participated in a cruise, but found it “difficult” to be around so many people at once.

“I decided, ‘You know what, Rick? Don’t try and bite off more than you can chew. Just deal with this, deal with what’s in front of you. Spend as much time as you need at home,’” he said. “I’d love to get back to doing some of my side projects, particularly the art. And let’s hope I can soon.”

Allen was smoking in the valet area outside the Four Seasons Hotel in Fort Lauderdale when his alleged attacker, a 19-year-old visiting from Ohio, approached from behind a pole, ran “full speed” toward the rocker and struck him, causing Allen to fall backward and hit his head on the ground, according to an arrest report obtained by PEOPLE at the time.

The suspect also attacked a woman who came outside to help Allen, and he arrest report says he grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out of the hotel’s lobby after she ran back inside to escape. He fled the scene, but was arrested after he was found breaking car windows in a nearby hotel parking lot. 

He was charged with two counts of battery, four counts of criminal mischief and abusing an elderly or disabled adult, according to the report.

Two months later, Allen spoke about the incident in an interview with Good Morning America, saying he “saw this dark sort of flash” before he fell on his back and hit his head on the pavement.

“I don’t think he knew who I was, but he must’ve seen that I wasn’t a threat because, you know, I’ve only got one arm,” said Allen, whose left arm was amputated in January 1985 after a car accident. “I immediately just went to that place of just feeling grateful for the fact that I have an amazing wife and an incredible family. I just started just thanking a higher power for the fact that I’m still here.”

Allen was in town with Def Leppard for a concert when the attack occurred, and issued a statement days later saying he was on the road to recovery.

“Thank you everyone for your overwhelming support. Your love and prayers are truly helping. My wife Lauren [Monroe] was thankfully not with me at the time of the incident. We are together now, and working on recovering in a safe space,” he wrote at the time.