Comedian Arj Barker has hit back after sparking fierce debate when he kicked a mum and her young baby out of his Melbourne Comedy Festival show.
The US stand-up comic, who visits Australia frequently, was in the middle of his show when he stopped it and asked the woman to “take the baby outside”.
According to 3AW Breakfast listener David, it led to an uncomfortable moment inside the theatre.
“The crowd wasn’t sure whether he was serious — but he was dead serious. It was unbelievably awkward,” he said.
“The baby was just being a baby, it wasn’t doing anything above and beyond.”
In a statement, Barker doubled down on his decision to kick the baby out.
“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,” he said.
“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.
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“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.”
A woman who claims to be a relative of the woman who was kicked out slammed the comedian in a series of posts on X.
“(Arj Barker) demanded my 7-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 he/she was ‘ruining his train of thought’,” she posted.
“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.
What a way to cancel yourself.
“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.”
The move has sparked fierce debate online, with social media users split in their support for or opposition to the comedian.
“What a way to cancel yourself…..silly boy,” said one woman on Barker’s Facebook page.
“I’m paying to see Arj, not listen to someone’s baby. If it was an appropriate place for a baby he would be playing pre-schools,” said another.
Barker is performing a series of East Coast shows over the coming weeks in Victoria and Queensland, before a string of shows in WA in September.