george lopez has a fiery brand of comedy. He isn't afraid to tackle political or sensitive issues and commonly makes fun of his own demographics, including the Latino community. Last Saturday night, he took a shot at the group during a stand-up show in Phoenix, Arizona. This led to a testy exchange with a female audience member, ending with her removal from the premises.
The incident
During his stand-up set, Lopez began to crack a joke about Latinos, claiming that the only two rules the community has relates to not marrying black people and not parking in front of someone's house.
Most of the audience members laughed at the joke, but it clearly touched a nerve with one of the female spectators in attendance. She stood up to protest the joke, likely offended by virtue of being black, and therefore a target of the joke.
Lopez immediately admonished the audience member, telling her to sit down or get out. Eventually, she did decide to sit down, by the damage was done in Lopez's eyes as he continuously said "bye" to her and her friends. They did ultimately get up and leave to the excitement of the other people in attendance as Lopez proudly boomed about the newly free seats near the front of the venue.
Backlash
The reaction from the audience incident came instantaneously. Many came out in favor of Lopez -- if one is willing to pay for a ticket to a show, they should be willing to respect the entertainer who has set up the show for them.
Additionally, comedy is meant to be offensive at some level, so the expectation that the comedian would've gone in a sensitivity-ambiguous direction should not have come as a surprise.
Other people, however, agreed with the audience member who was virtually ridiculed out of her seat. Some defended her, claiming she had the right to do as she pleased with her ticket, and she did eventually decide to be respectful before Lopez went nuclear on her. Others also believed his joke was racist and not funny, and the rest of the audience only reacted positively because they were uncomfortable doing otherwise.
