Internationally popular comedian Arj Barker has copped backlash after a very controversial move during one of his shows at the Melbourne Comedy Festival.
Barker was performing to a crowd of 700 when he abruptly stopped, and called out a mother with her 7 month old baby, asking them to leave stating the baby was “disrupting” his performance.
It’s unclear if there was disruption coming from the mother and her baby, but a fellow patron, David, who was also enjoying the show stated that “The baby was just being a baby, it wasn’t doing anything above and beyond”. According to David “He stopped the show and said: ‘Can you take this baby outside?’ The crowd wasn’t sure whether he was serious – but he was dead serious. It was unbelievably awkward.”
A report later claimed that over 30 people left the theatre in protest.
Arj has since stood by his actions, stating that he agrees the interaction was awkward, and while he does feel bad about the whole situation, “the show is strictly age 15 plus, as clearly stated on the ticket site.”
It’s quite a divisive argument with Barker receiving lots of support online. One online comment said “Who takes a newborn to a show? The comedian has worked hard his whole life to get to this point, and that’s his show a show he would be so proud to deliver – a comedy show is all about content – if you miss the lines you miss the show,”
What side of the fence are you sitting on?
