Comedian Arj Barker reportedly kicked out a mother and her baby from his Melbourne International Comedy Festival show on Saturday night.
The Flight of the Concords star claimed the seven-month-old was "ruining his train of thought" before stopping his show in front of a crowd and asking them to leave.
Speaking to 3AW, the woman said she "felt humiliated" and Barker"“was intimidating, and he was standing right in front of me".
One of the woman’s relatives, Danielle, also took to X to condemn the US comedian.
"A woman has purchased a ticket for a night out with her sister and friend to laugh and enjoy herself, and you badger her and encourage her to leave and get a refund," she wrote.
"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."
David, a man who attended Saturday night’s show, claimed the baby was "not being disruptive".
"The baby was just being a baby. It wasn’t doing anything above and beyond," he said on 3AW Breakfast.
He said Barker made a few jokes about it and then moved on. But about five minutes later, "as people were laughing, the baby started making baby noises and maybe a whinge, I suppose". At that point, he said Barker turned to the mother.
"[Barker] 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."
David said the response from the crowd was "mixed".
It’s understood a group of about eight women sitting near the mother and child also left, as did several others throughout the evening.
However, "there were a couple of ladies that yelled out ‘yeah, just get out of here’," said David. "I just couldn’t believe it. The abuse this lady got from the crowd...I was like, are we serious here as people?"
Barker doubles down
Barker had since doubled down on his decision to publicly boot the mother and her child.
In a statement to ABC Radio, he insisted the baby was "disrupting" his performance.
"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.
"On behalf of the other 700 people who paid to see the gig, I politely told her the baby couldn’t stay. She thought I was kidding, which made the exchange a bit awkward.
"I felt bad about the whole situation and stated this on the night more than once. I offered her a refund. Theatre staff should not have seated a baby in my audience in the first place."
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival responded by saying Barker was independently produced, and they had since received 10 complaints following the incident.
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