From NBC News: A Minnesota comedy venue canceled six sold-out shows by comedian Ben Bankas after videos of him mocking the death of Renee Good went viral.
Laugh Camp Comedy Club, located in downtown St. Paul, dropped all of the shows that were scheduled to take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, citing “heightened threats, increasing media attention and civil disorder.” All ticket buyers are being refunded.
The club’s owner, Bill Collins, wrote in a statement to NBC News that a “small club like ours does not have the needed resources.”
“We are obligated to place the highest priority on the safety of our guests, staff and talent and we are left with no option but to cancel,” the statement said.
Good was shot after interfering in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. OA Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, Bankas performed at the Laugh It Up Comedy Club in Poughkeepsie, New York. During one show, according to video from the show, Bankas commented on the shooting.
“Her last name was Good. That’s what I said after they shot her,” Bankas said.
“He also called her the R-word, mocked her partner and suggested she should have been shot sooner,” NBC News reports.
Bankas commented on the cancellation of his Minneapolis shows, captured in a video from one of his shows and posted on Facebook. He said he was upset that he could not perform shows for “normal” and “good” people in Minnesota.
“Minneapolis/St. Paul I was excited to do 6 sold out shows for you.. working on new venue and dates for the fine people of Minnesota.” he wrote on the post.
1See it below (WARNING: Foul language):
Read more at NBC News
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