Arj’s “let’s clear the air”Instagram postfollowed an incident that occurred during his show on Saturday (April 20) at the Melbourne Comedy Festival in Australia.
“It was unbelievably awkward.”
Comedian Arj Barker sparked outrage after telling a mother that her seven-month-old child couldn’t stay at one of his shows
Image credits:James D. Morgan/Getty Images
But it was athread shared on X(formerly known as Twitter) that sparked worldwide outrage, with a certain Danielle Arbaci, who has since deactivated her account, sharing a rather disturbing account of what went down last weekend.
“Arj Barker demanded my seven-month-old cousin — who relies on her mum for milk (life), my mother, and my Aunty’s friend (also a mum) to leave his show, claiming the he/she was ‘ruining his train of thought’” Danielle wrote.
She continued: “Thanks to the countless women, and one grandfather, who left in protest. Atrocious.
“You’re in the city of Melbourne, at an International Comedy Festival. Have an ounce of respect.”
Arj emphasized the decision had been a “very rough call” that he made on behalf of the “other 700 or so audience members who deserved to see the show they had paid for, uninterrupted”
Image credits:stock.adobe.com
The outraged comedy-goer further alleged that Arj had “badgered” the mom of the seven-month-old and encouraged her group to leave and “get a refund.”
“With all of the hatred and violence women are faced with, among the countless atrocities happening within the world today, I ask you to simply take a long, hard look at yourself,” Danielle concluded.
With backlash growing online, the California native, whose real name is Arjan Singh Āulakh, clarified the situation from his own perspective, recalling: “I had just started my show last Sat night in Melbourne.
“The Atheneum was pretty full and everyone seemed in a great mood.
“Now I was quite concerned. In my experience of doing comedy for nearly 35 years, an audience focus is a delicate thing.
“If a noise or movement distracts people mid-joke, the payoff can be greatly diminished.”
Image credits:daniellearbaci_
“I felt bad doing so and stated this at the time as well as several times throughout the remainder of the show,” Arj wrote. “As she was leaving, I offered for her to get a refund, as a gesture of goodwill.”
The comedian emphasized the decision had been a “very rough call” that he made on behalf of the “other 700 or so audience members who deserved to see the show they had paid for, uninterrupted.”
The Californian also clarified that while some people had left as a result of his decision, “97% of the audience remained and the show was well received.”
Arj went on to refute allegations that he had dismissed the woman for breastfeeding, as he could not even see his audience well enough to notice such details.
“This was all to do with audio disruption of my show, nothing more,” the comedian added. “For the record, I support public breastfeeding, as it’s perfectly natural.”
He concluded: “I’ve nothing against babies, in fact, I was one once, for almost two years.”
Arj stated that the issue “was all to do with [the] audio disruption of [his] show, nothing more”
Image credits:arjbarker/joelozborn
The stand-up star’s statement ignited different reactions, as an Instagram user commented: “Who the hell takes a seven-month-old to a comedy night.”
“My partner and I saw her walk in and looked at each other.
“She was four rows from the front in the middle of the row, so definitely not close to the edge like she said.
“It is not acceptable and it’s very selfish.
The stand-up star refuted allegations that he had dismissed the woman for breastfeeding, as he could not even see his audience well enough to notice such details
Image credits:arjbarker
“Why does one person think that they are more important than everyone else, I worked hard to raise my child, on my own and would never have considered this.
“She was never thinking of getting up and leaving.
“There were at least 10 people on her way to the end of the row.”
Someone else penned: “Out of curiosity: Do you ask hecklers to leave your show?
“How about people with coughs? People with tics? Autistic people with verbal stims?
“Where do you draw the line at natural human noises during a show?”
Bored Pandahas contacted Danielle for comment.
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