Hero Comedian Kicks Breastfeeding Woman Out Of Show
James D. Morgan. Getty Images.
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Columbia University is burning to the ground in a frenzy of anti-semitism, whales are exploding on the beaches, and the Chinese are trying to attack us through cybersex chats all day, everyday. Will anyone stand up? Will anyone cut through the madness?
Comic Arj Barker will. And not a moment too soon:
Comedian Arj Barker reportedly kicked out a breastfeeding mother and her newborn baby from his show in Australia Saturday night, forcing a handful of furious attendees to walk out of the theater in solidarity.
“I was actually breastfeeding when he came and stood in front of me and he was basically telling me to leave,’ Trish said. “People were laughing and I don’t think he was joking. So I said to him, do you actually want me to leave? And he said, “Yes I do.”
A group of “ten or 12 people” — including one man — walked out of the 863-seat auditorium over the “humiliated” mother’s departure.
Barker, dubbed “Australia’s favorite American comedian,” slammed theater staff for allowing the child into the show.
“The show is strictly age 15 plus as clearly stated on the ticket site. She had an infant with her. The baby was disrupting my performance,” Barker said in a statement.
Honest question: who brings a baby to a comedy show? What… what are you thinking? That's the craziest, most selfish thing I've heard today.
The woman's cousin (I think) put it in very biblical terms:
Yes. Having a baby is hard. New mothers face, uhm, unfair restrictions on their ability to participate in society. But… what's next? Are we going to see new moms army crawling under barbed wire in Spartan Races, grabbing to-go milk bottles from a sideline supporter as they hit the 5k checkpoint? Should we allow colic screamers through the gates of Magnolia Lane to enjoy a solemn Sunday at the Masters?
A 15-plus age restriction at a comedy show is put there not just for the comedian's sake, but for the sake of the other paying audience members. This dude Arj is selling theaters. 700+ people bought tickets to see this guy. You're going to ruin the show for 700 other people because you can't hire a babysitter? If you're able to pay for theater comedy tickets, I'm guessing you can afford to hire the 19-year-old sophomore next door who is currently training for her degree in physical therapy to look after the baby for a few hours.
This made me hopeful:
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10 to 12 people, aka "countless women and one grandfather." That's a whopping 1.4% attrition rate. Talk about solidarity.
As a functioning society, we have decided where we will tolerate screaming babies: airplanes, public transportation, grocery stores, fast-casual restaurants, etc. It sucks, but we accept it. Plus, noise-cancelling headphone technology has come a long way.
But a theater performance by a comedian is asking too much. We have to draw the line. Arj Barker did, and for that, we salute him.