Jimmy Carr has become the latest big-name comedian to throw out a rowdy guest at a gig.
The funnyman, 52, was performing at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on Sunday night as part of his latest stand-up tour.
And like Peter Kay, who ejected a heckler last month during a gig at Manchester’s AO Arena – which was captured on camera, Jimmy was equally unimpressed with a punter for talking during the opening 30 minutes of his routine and becoming a ‘nuisance’ to those around him.
According to an eye-witness, four audience members sitting next to the troublemaker – who was accompanied by a female – threatened to walk out and one of them, a male, had to be held back by his partner after appearing to aim a punch at the heckler.
Incredibly, after being alerted to what was happening while on stage, Jimmy then told the four leaving fans to stay put, before taking on the heckler – sitting in the front row of the first tier – in his notoriously brutal style.
The eyewitness told MailOnline: ‘Four people got up to leave and one of them had to be held back from hitting the heckler.
‘Then Jimmy intervened, he told the four fans to sit down and said to the heckler, ‘You’re blind drunk, you’re probably on cocaine, so I’ll give you three choices.
”You can either get up and leave, go away and come back and see me again, or you can sit there, refuse to go and I’ll get security’.’
Jimmy Carr (pictured) has become the latest big-name comedian to throw out a rowdy guest at a gig
The funnyman (pictured in 2022), 52, was performing at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on Sunday night as part of his latest stand-up tour
Like Peter Kay (pictured), who ejected a heckler last month during a gig at Manchester’s AO Arena – which was captured on camera, Jimmy was equally unimpressed with a punter for talking during the opening 30 minutes of his routine
According to the eyewitness, the rowdy audience member refused to budge which then sparked Jimmy to hail security who arrived on the scene within seconds and escorted the heckler – and his female companion – out of the theatre.
The eyewitness added: ‘Everyone started cheering and Jimmy referred to the Peter Kay incident a few weeks ago.
‘There must be something in the water at these comedy gigs at the moment.’
Following the show, Jimmy was praised for his actions by fans who had flocked to his Facebook page to comment about the gig.
One user commented: ‘You handled that annoying idiot like a pro,’ another added: ‘Fabulous show and the guy that got escorted out, he deserved nothing less’
A third chimed in: ‘Great show, handled the crowd trouble with class.’
Bolton comic Kay, 51, received a backlash after kicking three hecklers out of his gig in Manchester in February.
One of the rowdy audience members Phillip Peters, 54, went public by claiming he was ‘treated like a terrorist’ by security staff after shouting ‘garlic bread’ during Kay’s show – the funnyman’s catchphrase.
One of the rowdy audience members Phillip Peters (pictured), 54, went public by claiming he was ‘treated like a terrorist’ by security staff after shouting ‘garlic bread’ during Kay’s show – the funnyman’s catchphrase
The second heckler, Myar Curran (pictured), 25, was ejected from the show after shouting ‘we love you Peter’
The comic compared her to actress Lisa Riley (pictured) as she was removed, a comment which she said left her ‘in tears’
The second heckler, Myar Curran, 25, was ejected from the show after shouting ‘we love you Peter,’ with the comic comparing her to actress Lisa Riley as she was removed, a comment which she said left her ‘in tears’.
In a post on Instagram Stories, Kay explained that the first heckler had been disrupting his stand-up show by repeatedly shouting ‘garlic bread,’ and he made the decision to eject them after ‘forty audience members’ agreed it was distracting.
He then went onto address his jibe at the other audience member, saying he ‘didn’t see it as an insult.’
Kay wrote: ‘At the show on Saturday night, February 8th, in Manchester, I had two hecklers disrupting from the very start.
‘I did my best to address the situation and make light of it, as any comedian would, but unfortunately, their interruptions continued.
‘I then tried to ignore them, hoping they’d settle down, but when the disruption persisted into the second half of the show, I asked the audience around them if they were being bothered by the noise.
‘They all shouted ‘yes’ and when I asked for a show of hands, at least forty people raised theirs.
‘At that point, I had no choice but to take action. The lady who was escorted out did bear a striking resemblance to Lisa Riley, though I don’t see how that’s an insult.
‘This was only the second and third time I’ve had to ask someone to leave during my 114 shows over the past three years of this tour.
‘As a comedian, you never want to eject anyone, but when repeated disruptions make it impossible to continue, it’s important to consider the experience of the rest of the audience.’
