An American Idol winner is currently recovering after an “unprovoked attack” by two women during a performance over the weekend.

The unprovoked attack happened while American Idol season 18 winner, Samantha Diaz, also known as Just Sam, was performing at a New York subway station.

As they were singing their rendition of Beyonce’s hit single “Irreplaceable,” Diaz was interrupted by the two women who then got physical with them and their sister.

Diaz managed to obtain a video of a passerby trying to confront them. In the clip, the singer is seen calling out the passerby before going back to singing the song. “I can’t believe this even happened,” she captioned the video on Instagram.

The American Idol star then told fans in the comment section it was an unprovoked attack and they did nothing to this passerby.

“The woman in the video attacked me and my sister unprovoked… NOTHING like this has EVER happened to me before in all my many years of singing underground. We are okay and we are always safe. I never ever go to the trains alone. Thank you to everyone for having my back. We are great. God is always protecting us.”

Samantha Diaz Once Opened Up About Not Having Any Fame After Winning ‘American Idol’

Samantha Diaz won the 18th season of American Idol in 2020. Although most winners would see a form of fame, Diaz appeared to not have the same kind of luck. By 2021, she was back to singing in New York subway stations.

In a since-deleted 2023 post captured by The Sun, Diaz admitted to feeling super embarrassed to be going back to singing at subway stations. “I didn’t want people to know that I legit needed the money,” she explained. “I didn’t want people to know that it wasn’t optional.”

Diaz then stated, “I was disappointed in myself for allowing myself to fall so low after winning Idol, but then I had to take it easy on me and remember that I started my journey with Idol at 20 years old. Not even knowing anything about Hollywood or the music industry.”

The singer went on to share, “Since then, I have learned so much and I’ve been able to take my experiences and share them with other artists in hopes that they don’t experience the same things that I did when it comes to making it in this life. I know that everything happens for a reason and I know that this too shall pass no matter what things may look like right now.”