A group of comedians was kicked out of a Manhattan bar Wednesday after they confronted media mogul and accused sexual predator Harvey Weinstein.
During her standup set on stage at Downtime NYC, which has gone viral on the internet, 27-year-old comic Kelly Bachman opened her routine by admitting, “I’m a little tense.”
“I’m a comic,” she added. “It’s our job to name the elephant in the room. Does anybody know what that is?” she asked, to which most of the audience — including Mr. Weinstein — remained silent.
“It’s a Freddy Krueger in the room, if you will. I didn’t know we had to bring our own mace and rape whistles to Actors’ Hour,” she said, which prompted loud boos from the back of the room and one call to “Shut up!”
“I have been raped, surprisingly by no one in this room,” she continued. “Just a general f—- you to who I’m talking about.”
Ms. Bachman was referring to Mr. Weinstein, a Hollywood producer accused of sexually assaulting or harassing more than 80 women, and she and two other comedians were later kicked out of the bar after they confronted Mr. Weinstein at his table directly.
“We have to make a choice whether to be implicit or not,” Ms. Bachman said to The Washington Post. “I want nothing to do with anyone that celebrates a monster. That doesn’t feel like it should be a very controversial opinion. That’s not a gray area.”
A representative for Mr. Weinstein blasted the performers in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, calling them out for making a scene when he was “out with friends enjoying the music.”
“This scene was uncalled for, downright rude and an example of how due process today is being squashed by the public, trying to take it away in the courtroom too,” the spokesperson said. “Accusations are, in fact, not convictions.”
Mr. Weinstein has pleaded not guilty to two charges of predatory sexual assault and faces a criminal trial scheduled for January. He will later face five other felony charges, for which he also has pleaded not guilty.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.