TV star defends ejecting breastfeeding mum from show over ‘gurgles’

Comedian Arj Barker has sparked fury after asking a woman holding her ‘gurgling’ baby to leave his show.

The 49-year-old TV star, who has appeared in HBO series Flight of the Concords, was performing a show in Australia on Saturday when he stopped it midway through and asked mum-of-three Trish Faranda to leave.

She was sitting four rows from the front with her seven-month-old baby who was making ‘gurgling’ noises when Barker interrupted his own show, with Faranda claiming she was also heckled by the audience.

Recalling the incident, she told 9 News: ‘It wasn’t fun to be honest, I was breastfeeding at the time as well, so I felt already really vulnerable.’

‘It was humiliating,’ she added. ‘The gist of it was that we were interrupting his rhythm and that we should basically leave.’

‘Nobody wants to feel unwanted and when you’re getting booed out of a place you definitely feel unwanted,’ she said.

Faranda was brought to tears after leaving when other audience members walked out in solidarity with her, sending their message of support.

Comedian Arj Barker has sparked debate after asking an audience member at his comedy show to leave while she was breastfeeding her baby (Picture: James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

Mum-of-three Trish Faranda has spoken out after being left ‘humiliated’ (Picture: TEN)

Barker’s actions have divided social media users, with some defending him and saying he did nothing ‘wrong’, especially considering his website states his show is ‘suitable for age 15+’.

And he’s since doubled down on his actions, telling The Today Show: ‘I feel really sad to think people would look at me in a non-positive way, what happened is unfortunate.’

He added that he wants to ‘set the record straight’, insisting he had no idea whether Faranda was breast-feeding or not because he was on stage, and couldn’t see the audience properly through the stage lights.

Barker went on: ‘I could see there was likely a woman holding a baby, that’s all I could see, the breastfeeding was never part of it, I didn’t even hear about that until two days after this thing happened, that was news to me.’

‘If it were the father I would have acted the exact same way,’ he added, saying it was ‘an audio issue’.

Arj has defended his actions, saying he didn’t want the audience’s enjoyment and ‘immersion’ to be interrupted by noises (Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

He went on to say that his main concern was the audience’s ‘immersion’ in his show, which would have been interrupted by any noises.

Barker explained: ‘This was a quiet theatre, a beautiful quiet theatre, you can hear a pin-drop in there. It’s a theatrical show and I’m trying to do that thing.

‘It wasn’t about me, it was about the audience being able to have the immersion to enjoy the show and enjoy the rhythm and the pauses and the timing, and if you’re trying to watch something, and there’s a noise over here or a phone rings over there, it takes you out of it.

‘That’s why I did it, it’s the only reason I said, the baby is going to disrupt the show, but it wasn’t anything to do with me not being able to perform, it was on behalf of the audience.

‘I have nothing against anyone and of course I feel bad for how much angst and upset this has caused.’

Talking about the heckling, he said he was ‘gently’ trying to ask the lady to ‘remove’ the baby, and wasn’t sure if the shouts from the audience were directed at himself or her.

‘I have nothing against the woman and her child,’ he added, joking he’s offering the child a ‘complimentary ticket’ for his show in 2039.

In a statement sent to the publication, The Melbourne International Comedy Festival said: ‘Arj is independently produced and at a venue not managed by the Festival, 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.’

Later speaking to radio station 3AW, Barker claimed the situation was ‘really awkward’ for himself, adding: ‘I made the decision not for myself, but for the audience. I think I did the right thing, but it was a very difficult situation.’

‘I think I did the right thing, but it was a very difficult situation,’ he said (Picture: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty)

He echoed his thoughts in a statement on Instagram, titled ‘BabyGate: Let’s Clear The Air.’

Faranda earlier told 7 News that she wasn’t sure if Barker was joking at first, recalling: ‘She did a little bit of babbling and he just stopped and said, “Is there a baby here?” and he did a thing about babies.

‘Then he said, “I speak fluent baby and it said take me outside.”’

 She went on: ‘After that, I was a little bit anxious about her making any sound.

‘She had a little whinge and I popped her on the breast to feed her and she was quiet.’

Faranda claimed she asked Barker if he wanted her to leave, to which he said yes and ‘turned to the crowd and was trying to get their support to kick us out.’

She added that the situation was ‘intimidating and humiliating’ and that her daughter’s sounds could be equated to someone having ‘a cough’ during the show.

Faranda called the situation ‘intimidating and humiliating’ (Picture: Seven)

Some fans are supporting Barker (Picture: Robert Prezioso/Getty Images)

Some fans have stood by Barker, and others pointed out the irony that during Faranda’s interview with The Project, she was asked midway through by the host if Clara, who was crying at the time, ‘could go to dad for a quick second’.

‘The baby from the Arj Barker thing basically sabotaging her mother’s credibility in every interview has to be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,’ @aussiemusicguy wrote on X.

@DarylTractor said: ‘No joke The Project host just asked the mum who brought her baby to the Arj Barker show if she could hand off the baby to her husband mid-interview because bub was crying and disrupting their interview.’

‘To the mother and baby kicked out of Arj Barker’s comedy show, he specifically asked for NO BABIES OR KIDS at his show long before you got tickets! You did the wrong thing, it’s on you,’ @CeeEllEss_33 meanwhile fumed.

@skulzy87 added: ‘Arj Barker did absolutely nothing wrong. More questions should be asked on the Mother why she thought it was a good idea to take a breastfed child to a 15+ comedy show.’

But @ellensandell said: ‘I totally disagree. As a mum who has bf three babies (including in Parliament, the cinema, etc) I don’t believe I should have had to sit at home and not participate in society at all for the 4+ years I breastfed. Women have a right to participate in society while breastfeeding.’

@RhysPatron also shared: ‘As a performer, I understand Arj Barker’s frustration at having a baby cry in the audience. But incredibly poor form to speak to a breastfeeding mother the way he did, terrible audience management to not tell other audience members to shut up when they started yelling at her.’

@Jacstreet added: ‘Have spent way too much time mulling the fairness of taking a 7 month old baby to a comedy gig and have landed on both Arj Barker and the mum both being selfish and impolite.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.