Stand-up admits assault amid bitter feud

A bitter feud between two comedians ended up in court yesterday – with one of them admitting assault.

Canadian stand-up Lars Callieou pleaded guilty to punching Welby Santos several times when they clashed in a comedy club in Edmonton.

He threw Santos into the front doors of the Yuk Yuk's venue, and punched him in the face and head about five times, leaving him with a swollen left hand from blocking punches and a small bruise on his face.

Callieou drove to a police station immediately afterwards to turn himself in, and yesterday was given a conditional discharge after the court heard that he acted out of character.

The Edmondton Journal reports that Callieou's lawyer described how Santos had been provoking his client before the 2011 assault, fuelled by 'professional jealousy'. Callieou had even complained to police about harassment from Santos three months before the incident

The feud culminated when Santos shared a blog that implied Callieou had been cheating on his girlfriend. Santos claimed that Callieous subsequently made death threats against him. He described the antagonism in a blog post titled: Thanks Jesus or Ninja Vs. Bully Bitchtits – portraying himself as the ninja and Callieou as 'a psychotic bully' and a 'fucking maniac'.

Santos also spoke about the feud in his set, posting this material online:

Soon after the assault an anonymous Twitter account was set up, accusing Callieou of stealing jokes.

Santos was not in court for yesterday's hearing.

Published: 13 Nov 2013