WE NEEDED A LAUGH THIS WEEK

I did shows after tragedies before but last week I had to go on stage hours after Charlie Kirk was assassinated... in Florida. There was a vigil a mile away from my show with what seemed like a hundred people.

To be clear, I was never a fan of Charlie Kirk and I went after a lot of his arguments and misreadings of the law. But I 100% do not condone any silencing of speech, especially with violence. But the show had to go on and I read the room and avoided any jokes that could trigger folks who clearly had a rough week or who were fans of him. I even softened the darker jokes I did that touch on death or politics given that most people just heard the news, especially on Thursday when it happened. Ironically, it was also 9/11 and I was the only middle eastern in the room, so that was a fun way to distract the crowd from the latest trauma.

My job was to make people laugh or escape and I think I did it. People paid to get laughs. If they wanted commentary, they would have stayed home. I get it. That's not to say I won't and did not comment on the incident and the adminstration and public outcry in the aftermath on social media (especially on threads).

After the show, a man in tears came up to me and thanks me for my show. Maybe he had other trauma in his life but he said "Thank you for that. We needed that tonight after a tough week." Even if me and that guy did not agree politically (which is an assumption on my part, I know), that made me happy. The show must go on. #comedy #tragedy #formerlawyer #standup