A comedian allegedly smashed a pint glass into the face of an audience member who said his set was racist at Hong Kong Brew House last week.
The incident took place at a weekly open mic night hosted in the Lan Kwai Fong bar by Comedy HK on Wednesday evening.
Ravi Kanasamoorthe, an entertainment agent, was hospitalised with cuts to his face and a split lip, and received 40 stitches.
Warning: graphic image
Photos: supplied
An anonymous witness told Coconuts Hong Kong that the comedian, a white American man, had told a joke about Chinese people, which Kanasamoorthe said was racist.
The comic then reportedly asked why he would care, since he “isn’t even Chinese”, to which Kanasamoorthe replied that he was from Hong Kong.
Despite his assertion that he hailed from Hong Kong, the comedian allegedly insisted that Kanasamoorthe was not a local, due to his being born outside of Hong Kong. In response, Kanasamoorthe then apparently started speaking in Cantonese, and repeated his comment about the comedian being racist.
As the comedian left the stage, he allegedly shouted “I went to an all black school, don’t ever call me racist!” and smashed the pint glass in Kanasamoorthe’s face.
The impact reportedly caused multiple people near the victim to be splattered with blood and glass.
Speaking to Coconuts Hong Kong, Garron Chiu, a regular presence on the Hong Kong comedy scene, said the incident was a one-off event, and that the comic “isn’t representative of the scene”. According to Chiu, Comedy HK has banned the comedian from performing at their future events, and he has also been banned from entering Hong Kong Brew House.
The comedian was taken into police custody when officers arrived at around 10:30pm, but has since been released.
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