Comedian Joel Creasey has reportedly cancelled a planned show in the rural Victorian town of Bendigo after receiving homophobic threats from the area.
The show’s promoter, Golden Vine Comedy, posted on social media that the planned show – which was set for next Thursday, November 14th, has been canned after the threats were received. The show was scheduled to take place at the Golden Vine Hotel in the heart of Bendigo, and was to be comedy room’s debut show.
Promoters for the show confirmed the show’s cancellation on Facebook a short time ago, asserting Creasey’s management pulled him from the show due to safety concerns.
This isn’t the first time Creasey’s physical safety has been placed at risk in regional Victoria due to homophobic attacks. In 2011, Creasey was subject to a pair of attacks in the town of Colac, the second of which took place after Creasey spoke at an event run by a local anti-homophobia youth organisation, and involved a group of around 20 teenagers who gathered outside the venue and lay in wait for Creasey to emerge. After he did, Creasey was “chased in my car, violently threatened, run out of town.” The incident spurred the 2014 comedy documentary Gay Crashers, in which Creasey and fellow comic Rhys Nicholson returned to Colac to speak with locals and perform a stand-up show.
Joel Creasey issued a statement on the incident via his Facebook page a few moments ago, asserting that while the threats were not “entirely homophobic,” the situation did require an “element of privacy” and was an “all-around crappy situation.”
“Unfortunately, I have had to cancel my show next week in Bendigo. As this is a serious matter I didn’t think that specific details around my cancellation would be posted publicly and weren’t approved by me or my management team.”
“What’s done is done however, but because this [is] an ongoing matter and a safety issue, it requires an element of privacy. Therefore, I can’t discuss it further.”
“I am so sorry to disappoint my audience in Bendigo and want to be clear that this threat wasn’t entirely homophobic. Furthermore I certainly don’t think this reflects the Bendigo community in any way. I’ve never had to cancel a show before, love performing and love Bendigo – so it’s a bit of an all-around crappy situation.”
“Please know that it goes against my work ethic and I would have done anything for this not to have happened.”
“Thanks to the venue, the organisers, and the punters for understanding.”
