Comedian Arj Barker has sparked outrage after demanding that a mother with a ‘gurgling’ infant abandon his performance. At a show in Australia, Barker paused his act and instructed mother-of-three Trish Faranda to exit, as her seven-month-old baby was making noises.
Faranda, who was seated four rows from the front, claims she was additionally harassed by audience members. In an interview with 9 News, she stated, ‘It wasn’t enjoyable, to be honest; I was nursing at the time, so I already felt vulnerable.’
‘It was humiliating,’ she continued. ‘The gist of it was that we were disrupting his rhythm and should basically leave.’ She expressed, ‘Nobody wants to feel unwanted, and when you’re being booed out of a place, you definitely feel unwanted.’
Faranda was driven to tears after exiting as other audience members walked out in sympathy, signaling their support. Barker’s actions have triggered divergent views on social media, with some defending him and claiming he did nothing ‘wrong,’ especially considering his website specifies that his show is ‘suitable for age 15+.’
In response, he has doubled down on his behavior, stating on The Today Show, ‘I feel very sad to think people would view me negatively; what happened is unfortunate.’
Barker emphasized that he was unaware Faranda was breastfeeding, as he was on stage and could not properly see the audience due to the stage lights. He elaborated, ‘I could see there was probably 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 reacted identically,’ he continued, emphasizing that it was ‘an audio issue.’ He explained that his primary concern was the audience’s ‘immersion’ in his show, which would have been disrupted by any noises.
Barker clarified, ‘This was a quiet theater, a beautifully quiet theater; you can hear a pin drop in there. It’s a theatrical show, and I’m trying to achieve that.’
‘It wasn’t about me; it was about the audience having the immersion to appreciate the show and enjoy the rhythm, pauses, and 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 had nothing 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 terrible for the amount of anxiety and distress this has caused.’
In addressing the heckling, Barker claimed he was ‘politely’ requesting the woman to ‘remove’ the baby and was unsure if the audience’s jeers were directed at him or her. ‘I have nothing against the woman or her child,’ he added, humorously offering the child a ‘complimentary ticket’ to his performance in 2039.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival issued a statement, saying, ‘Arj is independently produced and at a venue not managed by the Festival. However, all interactions between performers and audiences require sensitivity and respect.’
‘In our Festival-managed venues, babies in arms are generally permitted, but we do ask people to sit at the back with their child so they can quickly and easily leave if the baby becomes noisy, so as not to disturb the artist and other patrons.’
Barker later told radio station 3AW that the situation was ‘very awkward’ for him, adding, ‘I made the decision not for myself, but for the audience. I believe I did the right thing, but it was a very difficult situation.’
He reiterated his sentiments in an Instagram post titled ‘BabyGate: Let’s Clear The Air.’
Faranda previously told 7 News that she initially questioned if Barker was joking, recounting, ‘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 continued, ‘After that, I was a little anxious about her making any sound.’
‘She had a little whinge, and I put her on the breast to feed her, and she was quiet.’
Faranda claims she questioned Barker about whether he wanted her to leave, to which he answered affirmatively and ‘turned to the crowd and attempted to garner their support to expel us.’
She described the situation as ‘intimidating and humiliating,’ comparing her daughter’s sounds to someone having ‘a cough’ during the show.
Public reaction to Barker’s actions has been mixed, with some fans expressing support while others have highlighted the irony that during Faranda’s interview with The Project, the host asked her midway through if her crying infant ‘could go to dad for a quick second.’
