US comedian Arj Barker sparked a furious backlash after asking a woman to take her baby out of his show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival on Saturday.
Barker, likely best known to New Zealanders as Dave in HBO comedy Flight of the Conchords, confirmed to Australian TV show The Project he had asked the woman to leave as "she had an infant with her, the baby was disrupting my performance".
Outlets in Australia reported the baby had made noises throughout his Mind Field gig at the Athenaeum Theatre and Barker had originally made a few jokes about the child being in the audience but then got serious, telling her to leave.
In a statement issued by Barker to ABC Radio on Monday morning, he said the exchange was a "bit awkward".
"On behalf of the other 700 people who paid to see the gig, I politely told her the baby couldn't stay," he said.
"She thought I was kidding, which made the exchange a bit awkward.
"I felt bad about the whole situation and stated this on the night more than once. I offered her a refund."
However, he added: "Theatre staff should not have seated a baby in my audience in the first place."
Barker also stated conditions of entry said the show was only appropriate for those aged 15 and over.
It was reported several others in the audience left the show in disgust after Barker got the woman and baby to leave.
One told radio outlet 3AW: "I just couldn't believe it. The abuse this lady got from the crowd."
The mother, who was named as Trish by 3AW, said she had been humiliated by the interaction.
"He came and stood in front of me and he was telling me to leave," she said.
"People were laughing and I thought 'I don't think he's joking, but everyone else seems to think he's joking', so I said to him, 'do you really, do you actually want me to leave? and he said yes'."
The comedian has been widely criticised for his actions by online commenters, with some who attended the show saying it was "absolutely disgusting" and a show of "male mob mentality".
Others defended his actions.
"You can't expect a baby to behave at a comedy show or concert, but you should expect a parent to have the sense not to take the baby there in the first place," one person wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Another said: "I am livid at hearing this.
"It's hard enough for new mums to participate in society with all the barriers put in front of them - to be humiliated like this, for just trying to enjoy the comedy festival, is awful.
"Arj Barker should take a good look at himself and apologise."
In a statement to the Daily Mail Australia, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival said they did not manage the venue but confirmed babies are allowed into shows.
"However, any interaction between performers and their audiences require sensitivity and respect. In our festival managed venues, babes in arms are generally allowed but we do ask people to sit up the back with their child so they can quickly and easily leave if the baby gets noisy so as not to disturb the artist and other patrons."
