Pete Davidson Fans Required To Sign A $1M Non-Disclosure Agreement If They Want To See His Standup Show
Pete Davidson has been co-headlining a standup tour with John Mulaney, and one of the documents that pops up before the show has been making waves.
From Variety:
Whatever you do, never tweet at a Pete Davidson comedy show. The “Saturday Night Live” cast member has recently been doling out non-disclosure agreements before each of his recent comedy shows.
Most recently, fans attending Davidson’s standup at the Sydney Goldstein Theater [San Francisco] were asked to sign a lengthy contract that forbade them from tweeting or instagramming any opinions about the performance.
The full NDA is below, but if you want to skip all the jargon here's a quick summary according to me, AKA someone who is not a lawyer & doesn't fully understand if any of this would actually hold up in court:
You cannot do an interview with anyone about what you saw, you cannot share your opinions/critiques, and you are not allowed to disclose any part of the performance or share things about it on any media/social platform. If you do, you're liable for $1MILLION in damages.
It seems like this is the extent of what you're allowed to share if you see him:
One fan (who refused to sign the document before the San Francisco show) was given a full refund and posted about the experience on her Facebook. Apparently there were others who refused to sign as well who also received refunds. The woman who spoke out said she would have been fine with having to keep any phones/cameras away, but felt that not being allowed to share opinions on it anywhere was too much.
Looking at that NDA again, it's also off-putting to me that you have to share your Twitter & Instagram handles so they can (I'm assuming) follow up & check to see if you've spilled any joke beans?? ('Joke beans' are not a thing and no one says that, Kate.)
As I mentioned before, Davidson is co-headlining with John Mulaney but I couldn't find anything about whether the NDA covers both of them or just him, and Mulaney hasn't commented on anything. I'm guessing just Davidson since all the internet news has been focused on that, and internet news is never wrong.
I know comedians are protective of their work since it can take years to get a set/special where they want it, but what about this particular set is so valuable it's worth putting paying fans on the hook for $1M? Part of me thinks it's just another publicity push from a comedian who is constantly in the spotlight, whether by design or not. The more logical part of me believes it's a performer who is simply sick & tired of feeling like their art is beyond their control these days. That's a big deal when it's your passion & livelihood, and he's never been one to shy away from controversy. Wondering what other comedians think of this.
Either way, I have to admit it made me a bit curious… what's all the fuss about? I'm sucker enough to want to find out.
You can go see for yourself if you're in Florida next week, and I swear I won't say anything if you tell me how it was.