George Lopez has become the latest comedian to end a standup set over repeated interruptions and heckling from the audience, which is unfortunately becoming the norm these days at comedy shows. In this instance, the venue Lopez was performing at has fired back against the comic, insinuating that security could have easily removed the offenders, although his team has pushed back against the claims.
Lopez had been performing at the Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville, CA on Friday, June 7 when the incident occurred. In a Facebook post following the show, the venue wrote that the 63-year-old had "let down his fans and sold out audience by walking out and ending his show 30 minutes early." The casino also claimed that Lopez had hired his own private security that could have easily escorted any hecklers out, and that there had been a pre-show meeting to plan for hecklers.
"He could have provided us an opportunity to allow our security and team to escort any hecklers out since his own private security did not," the post stated. "George decided to not continue with the show and leave." It also noted that Lopez had originally been scheduled to perform on April 20 but had to reschedule due to a medical emergency.
In an official statement released late Sunday, Eagle Mountain Casino apologized to attendees, offering both a full reimbursement and free tickets to an upcoming show. The statement said Lopez's abrupt departure "came as a shock to everyone including casino management" and that the "claims of unruly guests are not consistent with casino footage and surveillance."
"While we did see guests yelling out, we see recordings showing those saying—we love you, can we buy you a drink, etc.," said assistant general manager Tiffani Sahagun. "We also know that at a comedy show, there are also likely some outbursts that casino security would have been happy to address had any issue been made known. We only want for our guests to have a safe and enjoyable experience, and we want our entertainers to feel safe and enjoy coming to Porterville as well."
Be that as it may, TMZ obtained footage of Lopez walking off stage, and the interruptions did indeed seem disrupting, including the woman who yelled out about buying him a drink. And not only that, but Lopez did warn the audience and gave them the count of three.
Before exiting the stage, he even pleaded: "Now seriously, I seem like an a--hole, I'm the one working ... Come on, please, just watching the f--cking show, that's all you have to do." However, after audience members continued yelling even then, he calmly put his microphone back on the stand and walked off.
For his part, Lopez issued a statement on Saturday, placing the blame squarely on the casino's security team.
"George’s personal security team worked with the venue security staff to maintain order, ensure safety, and eject disruptive individuals," his reps told TMZ. "Unfortunately, the casino security team was not adequate to accomplish this task. George is not obligated to perform in an unsafe environment. He feels badly that those who came to see the show were unable to do so as a result."
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