Crooked in Canada

The one and only time I went to a comedy club was when I was living in Calgary with my girlfriend and another couple. Because we arrived a little later than expected, seating was limited and the only table we could find when we arrived for the late show at Yuk Yuks was right in front of the stage. The founder of Yuk Yuks, Mark Breslin was the emcee that night and we were well aware that we would occasionally become the butt of some of his jokes, whether we heckled him or not, not that we had any intention of heckling him in the first place.

My friend’s wife was his first target after she muttered loud enough for him to hear that she didn’t like the word “pussy.” He picked up on that and then went to town on her, but it was all in fun, though my friend’s was more than a little embarrassed that she had become part of his shtick. After that bit finished, Breslin focused his attention on me, and throughout the rest of show I was known as “Lance the queer guy.” It wasn’t a big deal, and I certainly wasn’t offended by Breslin in the least.

I haven’t been to a comedy club since, but the only reason for that is because the urge to go to one has never struck me since. I’ve been once, and I doubt my experience in a comedy club would be any different a second time around.

I like comedians, but not enough to sit in a club while slamming back expensive alcoholic beverages.

That being said, I hear there are two lesbians in British Columbia who bit off more than they could chew while attending open mic night at Zesty’s in Vancouver, and that one of them has filed a complaint with BC’s human rights tribunal.

Lorna Pardy and her lesbian partner became the target of comedian Guy Earle after they began heckling him while he was on stage, and in a retaliatory state of mind, the comic unleashed what Pardy is calling a tirade of homophobic and sexist insults at them. What a joke!

If the two women (I’m going to assume that they had more than a couple of alcoholic beverages on their night on the town) had kept their mouths shut instead of going out of their way to heckle Earle and other amateur comics that night, perhaps they wouldn’t have become involved in verbal stoush with Earle in the first place. As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to lesbian couples who visit venues where stand up comedy is performed, heckling comics during their stand up routine is asking for trouble, as Pardy and her girlfriend found out. It’s tit for tat, and if hecklers can’t handle the comebacks, then they should just shut the f**k up and enjoy the show. If they can’t do that, then they should get up off their asses and leave. That’s free and friendly advice to lesbian couples when they are watching a live stand-up comedy routine.

Pardy and her lover obviously bit off more than they can chew, and undoubtedly they were ridiculed by the comic who probably drew a lot of laughter from the crowd with his comeback, but they opened the door to such ridicule when the began heckling the comedians and as far as I’m concerned they got what they deserved. I suspect the human rights tribunal is going to see that way too, and they might even have a few chuckles of their own at Pardy’s expense, before they file the complaint under ridiculously stupid and nothing but a cash grab.

By the way, Pardy threw two drinks in Earle’s face, and Earle has admitted that he broke Pardy’s sunglasses in altercation after the show. No word on whether or not Pardy was wearing them at the time, nor do I care.

The CBC has been unable to reach Pardy for a comment, likely because she now realizes how ridiculously stupid she looks.

The owner of the establishment has also been name in the complaint and has stated that he did not discriminate against the couple and that he is not responsible for the incident. I wholeheartedly agree with the latter since the lesbians instigated the sideshow to begin with. About the only thing the owner can blamed for is for not ejecting the women from the restaurant when they started putting on a show of their own, but then again I can’t say as I blame him since the women would have likely claimed he discriminated against them for doing that.

Earle, who hails from Toronto, plans to fly back to Vancouver to defend himself against the allegation. He has also made it perfectly clear that he isn’t a homophobe, a hateful person, or discriminatory. I bet he has a lot of people who are willing to back those claims up for him too.

That said, Lorna Pardy and her same sex partner are only looking to make what they think is easy money, but in my opinion they are sadly mistaken.

Did I mention my sister, whom I haven’t seen in almost thirty years is a lesbian living in Vancouver, and while I if her partner’s name is Lorna, maybe it’s them who is playing this silly little game. I can’t really say for sure, but like I said; it has been almost 30 years since I spoke with my sister. I do hear news about her from time to time from other family members however.

Anyway, like I implied earlier, this sounds like a scam to me.

Headline: Lesbian insults spur human rights complaint against comic