Comedian Jack Whitehall has revealed he was once put in a headlock by an angry punter during one of his live shows.
The 33-year-old also recalled how, to make matters worse, the security at the venue where he was performing didn’t respond to the situation because they thought it was all part of his act.
“I was doing a Christmas show in Bournemouth and there was a large party in of industrial gardeners and they were heckling me quite badly,” he said on Good Morning Britain.
“So I picked on one of them and he got up on stage and put me into a headlock.
(Image: Getty)
“But everyone in the room was laughing because they thought it was a ‘bit’ – and, when I caught sight of the bouncers on the door, they were laughing as well.”
The comedian added that he remembers feeling “quite vulnerable” and described the situation as “scary”.
“So they (the security) wouldn’t have come to my aid and that is slightly the problem with comedians. When stuff goes wrong on stage everyone just assumes that it’s part of the act because no-one takes us seriously,” he added.
Whitehall recounted the story in light of what recently happened at the recent Oscars in Hollywood where host Chris Rock was slapped in front of a worldwide viewing audience by Will Smith after he made a joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.
(Image: JM Enternational/REX/Shutterstock)
Jack said: “The problem is that when something like that happens, and you sort of saw it happen at the Oscars, most people think that it’s part of the show, so they don’t do anything.”
He added that awards show hosts will be “‘checking themselves when they write jokes” from now on and advised fellow comics to “be careful who you pick on”.
The star had previously also admitted that he’s worried old stand-up material will cost him a burgeoning Hollywood career, which has so far included parts in hit US movies like Disney’s Jungle Cruise and Clifford the Big Red Dog.
(Image: Frank Masi)
He said: “I wish that first part of my career, when I was finding my feet and working out what I wanted to say, didn’t exist in public.
“Sometimes I catch a clip of myself back then and I’m so objectionable. I’d punch down and make crass jokes that I would never make now.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
