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Was Joel Kim Booster ACTUALLY heckled on stage? Here's what he had to say!
The comedian and Loot star took to social media to explain the situation!
We love comedian, writer, and actor Joel Kim Booster. We also know that comedy is subjective, and that even the best comedians get heckled sometimes. Recently, that was the case with Booster — or so it seems…
On April 20, a Twitter user posted an image of Booster with this (buff) arms out on stage gesturing at an audience member who was standing up with his thumb down during a recent set of his in Washington DC. It looked like a classic case of an audience member getting too drunk and deciding to make a show about themself. But what is the truth?
The fact that I have to deal with this shit, at the Kennedy Center of all places… this is not community…… https://t.co/gexszFXaAn
— Joel Kim Booster (@ihatejoelkim) April 21, 2024
Booster initially shared the tweet, adding "The fact that I have to deal with this shit, at the Kennedy Center of all places… this is not community…"
Immediately fans started supporting Booster, telling him to "ignore the haters," calling the heckler a "loser" and apologizing that he "had to deal with that."
Joel Kim Booster staging a heckler at the Kennedy Center…such Pisces behavior pic.twitter.com/jVeNZPw0qE
— Kimberly Ahimbo (@DeeOhAytch) April 22, 2024
Then, the next day, the truth came out.
While at first, the internet seemed to only have photos of the incident, the next day, a video emerged. However, this video was titled, "Joel Kim Booster staging a heckler at the Kennedy Center… such Pisces behavior."
Scandal!!!
In the video, we can clearly see Booster staging the incident in a truly hilarious way. "Okay, and now for the last one, I need for someone in the front to just stand up and pretend like you're a heckler and we're getting in a fight."
Immediately, a person in the second row stood up and started doing a "thumbs down" gesture while waving their arms.
"This is not okay!" Booster shouts while mimicking outrage.
"Perfect, okay!" he said as he wrapped up the bit.
I had planned on continuing to do this at various live shows until people genuinely believed I was the most persecuted comic in America, but it’s better as just a fun little secret prank I had with that specific audience for 12 hours.
— Joel Kim Booster (@ihatejoelkim) April 22, 2024
Then, on April 22, Booster opened up about the truth: the heckling was a bit that he had planned, and was planning on continuing to do. And even more, it was hilarious.
"To be fair, I thought the thumbs down was so stupid there was no way anyone would believe it," Booster said as he shared the video showing it was a set up.
"I had planned on continuing to do this at various live shows until people genuinely believed I was the most persecuted comic in America, but it’s better as just a fun little secret prank I had with that specific audience for 12 hours," he continued.
And genuine thank you to everyone for being so nice and protective, I feel like Drew Barrymore at the end of Never Been Kissed, I hated lying to you but it was for my JOB.
— Joel Kim Booster (@ihatejoelkim) April 22, 2024
"All glory to my guy in the audience who made a big bold choice, without which I don’t think this would've been nearly as funny," he added. "And genuine thank you to everyone for being so nice and protective, I feel like Drew Barrymore at the end of Never Been Kissed, I hated lying to you but it was for my JOB."
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Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
