Peter Kay has issued a statement after kicking a Scots mum out of one of his gigs, leaving her in tears. A scene erupted at the comedian’s ‘Better Late Than Never… Again!’ Manchester gig at the AO Arena on Saturday night.
Three hecklers were thrown out of the venue after allegedly spoiling the show for other attendees. One of them was Myar Curran from Hamilton, who was upset after being called Lisa Riley by the stand-up on her way out.
The 25-year-old branded Peter Kay a “bully” for “mocking” her in front of 23,000 people. Myar feels the Bolton comic took aim at her weight when he compared her to Riley, the Emmerdale actress and Loose Women panellist.
Myar told the Manchester Evening News: “I do feel he was on about my weight. 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.”
In a statement shared on Instagram, Peter responded: “At the show on Saturday night, February 8th, in Manchester, I had two hecklers disrupting from the very start.
“I did my best to address the situation and made light of it, as any comedian would. But unfortunately, their interruptions continued. I then tried to ignore them, hoping they’d settle down, but when the disruption persisted into the second half of the show, I asked the audience around them if they were bothered by the noise.
“They all shouted ‘yes’ and when I asked for a show of hands, at least forty people raised theirs. At that point, I had no choice but to take action. The lady who was escorted out did bear a striking resemblance to Lisa Riley, though I don’t see how that’s an insult.
“As a comedian, you never want to eject anyone, but when repeated disruptions make it impossible to continue, it’s important to consider the experience of the rest of the audience, who’ve paid to see a show without interruption.”
Myar said she was removed from the venue by security after screaming ‘we love you, Peter,'” to which the funny man shouted back from the stage: “Go on, off you go, Lisa Riley”.
The 51-year-old first kicked a man out of the performance for shouting ‘garlic bread’, asking: “Garlic bread? Kick him in the f**king face, will ya? Everyone around you is thinking ‘p***k’.”
He then demanded a light be put on the audience member and pointed him out to security guards. Peter said: “Give us a wave, k**bhead. Look at him, he doesn’t know where he is!”
As he pulled up a chair to watch the man be removed, Myar from across the arena started shouting as Peter said: “Christ almighty. Bloody hell. I love Saturdays. Alright love, we’ve heard ya. Take her out and all.”
He directed the security guards to “the woman in the black and white top from Debenhams Blue Cross,” telling her: “You’re going flower now, and all. You’ve upset every bugger out there, go on out you pop.
“You’ve missed the ending and everything. What a shame, your f****ing big gob, drinking de-icer. Go on Lisa Riley, f**k off”.
Lisa Riley has since come out to defend Peter Kay following the incident. The Mandy Dingle star insisted she is not “offended,” adding: “Draw a line under this now… I love Peter Kay to pieces. Laughter is my favourite medicine.”