Sharul Channa was forced to call the police after a confrontation with a patron at a comedy club in Singapore on July 11.
In a social media post after the incident, the Singaporean stand-up comedian related how she was waiting for her set at the unnamed venue when another comedian, whom she only identified as a Singaporean male of Indian descent, asked the audience: “Any Indians here?”
A male patron at the back of the club replied “No Indian” while laughing and repeated the phrase again before shouting “Achar” and laughing again.
Achar is a type of pickled dish in South Asian cuisine.
Because the comedian on stage could not make out what the audience member said, Sharul called out from the back of the room: “No Indians, but one racist.”
“That immediately triggered him,” the 39-year-old wrote in the post dated July 11, adding that the man “appeared to be Caucasian” and was “having some beers”.
“As I continued to prep for my own set at the back of the room, he approached me, beer in hand, and repeatedly asked me to step outside,” she wrote.
Sharul’s husband, fellow Singaporean comedian Rishi Budhrani, then calmly told the patron to return to his seat. The man refused and insisted on “stepping outside to speak”.
Sharul wrote: “Given how confrontational the situation had become, I decided it was the right time to call the police.”
The man then told the club owner that he was going to “roast” Sharul during her set and stood at the bar near the stage. Because he was blocking the view of other patrons, the club owner asked him to return to his seat.
While Sharul was performing, the man continued shouting from the back of the room and took videos of her performance. He then left the venue with a woman.
“When I came off stage, the police had arrived. The man was still outside,” Sharul wrote.
“The police acted professionally, spoke to all parties concerned separately, ascertained the facts, and eventually got the owner’s confirmation that this person is to be banned from entering the premises.”
She added that people who are openly racist should expect to be called out.
“Racism has no place here, particularly in a multicultural society that has worked hard to foster mutual respect across communities. Regardless of someone’s background, no one is entitled to intimidate or demean others.”
She added that injustice should not be tolerated, no matter who it is directed at. “Silence only makes prejudice more comfortable. Speaking up may be uncomfortable, but it is often necessary.”
When The Straits Times reached out to Sharul, she said that she was neither upset nor traumatised by the incident. Explaining why she made her post, she said: "I just feel like this is something that needs to be out there. We can’t set a bad precedent for comedy culture in Singapore.”
She said she felt compelled to call the police as there was a danger of the situation escalating.
“An intoxicated man with a glass of beer wanting to tell a woman to step out to talk to her is a recipe for disaster,” she said.
As is standard practice with all her live performances, the entertainer said her show that night was recorded on video.
She added that the incident will not change anything about her future sets, but that she will ensure that her female manager, who she said has martial arts training, will always be with her.
Sharul declined to reveal the name of the club where the incident happened as she does not want audiences to “not show up” at the place.
“The club owner works very hard. It’s very difficult to have a full-time comedy club in a country like Singapore because there are a lot of overheads for him and the whole comedy scene supports this club a lot.”
Her post has drawn many supportive comments on Instagram. “You did the right thing," wrote a netizen, while another thanked her for “standing up and not giving the bully a free pass”. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
