A Seattle comedy club canceled four comics because they didn’t align with the neighborhood’s “progressive values,” and one of the comedians predicted the club would go out of business.
Capitol Hill Comedy Bar celebrates “the vibrant voices of the queer community” with its weekly “Queer to the Front” open mic. Jim Florentine, Dave Smith, Luis Gomez and Kurt Metzger have booked future dates ahead of the change in direction, which the owners said was “to maintain harmony within the community.”
Florentine, who voiced the intellectually disabled teen character Special Ed on Comedy Central’s prank call show “Crank Yonkers,” said in a recent interview that there will be a Dungeons and Drag Queen Pride Month Brunch. He told the Post why he thought he was banned from the club. The calendar states that performers are expected to use “respectful behavior and language.”
“I speak my mind on stage, I’m sensitive, I don’t kiss the a— in the audience. I talk about transgender things,” said the Brooklyn native and New Jersey resident.
Florentine and the other comics, who were also represented by the same agent, were informed of the change of heart in a letter from the club’s booker, Jess Anderson.
Anderson said in the letter that the club values ”the art of comedy” and “diverse perspectives,” but has received “significant feedback expressing concerns about the integrity of future shows and the spirit of the neighborhood.” He said he was forced to draw the line.
Touted by Visit Seattle as an “LGBTQ+ hub,” Black Lives Matter and Antifa protesters declared ownership of the area in the spring of 2020, calling it the “Capitol Hill Borough.” ” (CHAZ), it became national news. He refused entry to police amid widespread protests against police brutality.
“In light of the feedback, we believe that the most responsible course of action is not to proceed with the show, in order to avoid any potential negative impact on both our club and the artists involved, and to maintain harmony within our community.” said Anderson. According to a copy of the letter Metzger shared, he said:
Florentine found the explanation humorous.
“I didn’t know you had to check with your neighbors. I called a friend of mine who owns comedy clubs all over the country and said, ‘I’m coming in a few months, so check out the neighborhood and see if it’s okay for me to perform there.’ Please check it out,'” he joked.
The comic speculates that Crabb may have had second thoughts after watching “Yonkers” and making numerous appearances on non-PC podcasts and the Howard Stern Show.
“A million things could have come from, ‘Hey, we don’t need this guy,’” he said.
“Normally clubs will research you before they book you. [and decide] We don’t want that type of comedy. Many places don’t take reservations and you don’t even know it.
“But in this case, they booked us,” Florentine continued.
“If they’re going to run their business that way, I don’t know how they can stay in business that long.”
The comic said he’s used to toning down some of his acts in certain more liberal areas, and acknowledged that some of his jokes probably wouldn’t get a big laugh in a Capitol Hill comedy bar.
When asked for one such little example, Florentine told a joke about her son’s gender identity as it relates to the size of his genitals.
But Florentine said making people uncomfortable is also part of his art.
“That’s why I got into comedy, to push the boundaries,” he said.
“Sometimes you kind of step out of line with something and you think, ‘Oh, I went a little too far.’ That’s the goal as a comic. You just find where that line is and go with it.”
Florentine said he has no ill will towards the Capitol Hill Comedy Bar and has already rebooked the Tacoma Comedy Club, about 45 minutes south of Seattle.
“I think they’re going to book us all for another weekend. They said, ‘We’ll definitely take you.'” We don’t censor comics like they do, Come here,” he said.
Other comics have made their feelings clear about the disrespect on other platforms.
Gomez accepted who she is. podcast Last week, I speculated that a local “young and jealous” comic may have pressured Anderson into his decision.
“This is what happens when there’s nothing going on in the comics. They just want drama,” he said.
“So[Anderson]saw the drama within the comedy space there and was like, ‘Okay, I think they’re great, but I’m not, look, we don’t need to make a thing of it.’ ” Perhaps they were concerned about protests? Seattle is like a very woke area. ”
On “The Jimmy Doerr Show,” Metzger mocked the club for “practicing groupthink” and predicted it would fail.
Club representatives did not respond to multiple interview requests from The Post.
