A Scots mum who was booted out of a Peter Kay’s show has branded the comedian a ‘bully’ after he compared her to Lisa Riley.
Myar Curran, from Hamilton was at the ‘Better Late Than Never… Again‘ gig in Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday night when she screamed ‘we love you, Peter’ and was removed from the venue by security.
The 25-year-old, who had travelled down to England for the show with her dad, auntie, best friend and boyfriend, was left in tears after the comic compared her to Emmerdale actress Lisa Riley.
As Myar was led out of the venue, he shouted from the stage: “Go on, off you go Lisa Riley”.
She said: “We bought these tickets ages ago so we’ve been waiting years for this.
“I lost my mum a couple of years ago and she was supposed to come to the show so it was something that was going to be very special to us.”
Moments before Myar was removed after declaring her love for the comedian, another heckler was kicked out for shouting ‘garlic bread’.
But Myar insisted she had no connection to the audience member. She later broke down at her hotel after being laughed at by the crowd at the 23,000 capacity venue.
“I do feel he was on about my weight,” the mum-of-one told Manchester Evening News. “I know Lisa Riley has lost a lot of weight and looks great but she used to be a bit bigger. I didn’t used to be this big, I have put a bit of weight on, I’ve had a child.
“I’m self-conscious about that so to go to a show and feel like you’re having the mick taken out of you because of your weight, I was just a bit shocked. I’m annoyed and upset about it. The whole arena was laughing, I think they thought it was part of the show but there was a nastiness to his voice. It was like he was trying to get the crowd against me – it just wasn’t nice, to be honest.
“I did have a cry about it after I got to the hotel room. I was just so upset. It was just a very rubbish situation. My whole family was disgusted by it.”
In response, Peter Kay stated this morning that he ‘didn’t realise’ his comment ‘was an insult’. Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he said, “She did look remarkably like Lisa Riley, I didn’t realise that was an insult.” Lisa Riley herself has spoken out about the incident, urging on Instagram: “PLEASE [praying hands emojis] draw a line under this now, I am not offended, never was offended. I love Peter Kay to pieces. Laughter is my favourite medicine.”
Myar added: “I think Peter Kay knew exactly what he was doing. If I was a bit skinner, he wouldn’t have made the comparison. There was no pussyfooting about it, it was definitely about my weight and how I looked.
“You don’t need to take the mick out of somebody for their weight, it’s just out of order really. He used to be a bigger man. It was like he was being a bully – there was a lot of anger and nastiness to it.”
Myar added that she is sad that Lisa Riley has been brought into the situation through no fault of her own.
“I just don’t want Lisa to think I’m offended by being compared to her,” she explained.
Myar has now claimed she is confident she will ‘never’ watch anything from the comedian again.
She added: “He didn’t need to make it personal. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever watch him again.”