Audience startled as Mark Normand’s set cut short by head-scratching ‘surprise’ at NYC club
It was a panic-filled punchline.
Comedian Mark Normand nearly left audience members scrambling for the exits when he was rushed off stage by security in the middle of his set, forcing the show to abruptly end after it was interrupted by a “planned ‘surprise’” that neither he nor the club appeared to know about.
Normand, 40, was performing at the New York Comedy Club Wednesday night when an unknown man in a yellow beanie jumped onstage in the middle of his set, leaving the comic and the audience confused about the strange stunt, a video shared on X shows.
“Oh hey … how are you? What do we got, a migrant here?” Normand joked as the man got up on stage.
“Oh jeez, everything alright? Just want to make sure everybody is good here. What’s going on?” he awkwardly asked the man as he stood silently beside him.
Security then rushed over, yanking the man off stage and removing him from the club — leaving Normand and comedy goers bewildered by the bizarre encounter.
“I really froze there, I went Mitch McConnell,” the jokester said to calm the crowd.
A woman then sped across the stage after the man and followed them out, while someone in the crowd asked, “What the f–k?” in confusion.
“Anything can happen at a comedy show, that was some kind of weird swinger sex party thing.”
But moments later, security returned and abruptly escorted the comic offstage, which caused fans to become noticeably worried, the video shows.
A woman who appeared to work for the club then came on stage and told the crowd, “Everything is fine, we just had a momentary interruption.”
The worker, seemingly as confused and nervous as audience members, first told fans to remain seated but then quickly backtracked, telling them to “get up and get out.”
As panic set in, a producer rushed onto the stage and informed the audience that they needed to leave and that Normand would not return to finish his set.
Fans were then seen exiting the club before the video ended.
In the wake of the show’s bizarre end, Normand and the club released statements saying the show’s producers planned it.
“No one was harmed or injured during my performance last night at New York Comedy Club,” Normand wrote to his 1.1 million Instagram followers Thursday.
“The disruption was part of a planned ‘surprise’ activity by show producers, HIHI. I had no prior knowledge this was going to happen,” he added.
“We’ve received a handful of inquiries regarding a viral clip of our club being evacuated last night. First and foremost, nobody was harmed or injured,” The New York Comedy Club announced on Instagram Thursday.
“The disruption was part of a filming by @Hi_Hi_, the producers that rented our venue for the night.”
To make things right with fans who only got a taste of one of New York City’s top comedians, the club shared that those “in attendance for this taping” will be treated to “an ACTUAL show for FREE” to make things right.
Fans who attended Wednesday night’s show can contact [email protected] for more information on the club’s offer.
HIHI could not be reached for comment about the stunt.
Normand has made multiple appearances on Comedy Central and is a regular on “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
The New York City comic also co-hosts the popular podcast “Tuesdays with Stories” with fellow funnyman Joe List.
He released a Netflix special called “Mark Normand: Soup to Nuts” in 2023.
