Dua Lipa "horrified" after the fans were released from the concert in China

English pop star Dua Lipa said on Thursday that she was "horrified" by the fact that several fans had been forcibly removed from her concert in Shanghai the night before.

The "New Rules" singer, who spoke for the final stop of her China tour on Wednesday, became visibly upset when security personnel ejected a handful of spectators from the room.

According to the BBC, some said that people were abducted so as not to sit, while others said the guards were targeting a group waving LGBTQ flags. Social media users shared images that appeared to show that staff were removing a person from their seat and forcing another person to leave the arena.

Dua Lipa tackled the incident before closing the show, fighting tears by encouraging fans to do their best to enjoy the remaining songs.

"I want us all to dance, I want us all to sing, I want us to have a good time," she told the crowd. "I'd love in those last songs that we really had a lot of fun. And for that?

A video showing a fight between the guards and a person was then posted on Twitter, showing the guards kicking and shouting at the unidentified individual.

A woman at the concert told the BBC that security personnel and police were "aggressive".

In an Instagram post on Thursday, Dua Lipa wrote that she would love to go back to town one day and "see a room full of rainbows".

"I will be by your side for your love and your beliefs and I am proud and grateful that you felt safe enough to show your pride in my show," she wrote. "What you did takes a lot of courage. I always want my music to bring strength, hope and unity.

"I was horrified by what happened and I send love to all my fans involved," she added.

Although the singer's note seems to indicate that fans were pitched for being pro-LGBTQ, it is unclear exactly why they were removed.

Although homosexuality was excluded from the official list of mental disorders in China in 2001, LGBTQ people have little legal protection against discrimination and still face widespread social disapproval and harassment.