Comic and critic clash at Adelaide Fringe

Veteran stand-up Lawrence Mooney has unleashed a vicious torrent abuse against a reviewer who branded him ‘just a funny guy’ rather than a comedian.

Over a series of angry tweets, the comic savaged Adelaide Advertiser journalist Isabella Fowler as a ’deadshit’ and a ‘fucking amateur’.

Fowler admitted: ‘I am not a seasoned comedy critic, but does that really matter?’ but insisted that didn’t mean her opinions were invalid in helping readers choose which comedy shows to attend.

‘I reviewed Lawrence Mooney’s show in good faith and with good spirit,’ she added, saying that she was ‘just telling it how it is’.

The swipes came in response to a three-star review of Mooney’s Adelaide Fringe show in which she asked: ‘What is the difference between "just a funny guy"  and a comedian? This is what I am left wondering after an hour at Rhino Room with Lawrence Mooney’ then concluding he ‘falls under the former’.

Mooney railed: ‘Are you deaf or just an idiot? Yeah I’m not a comedian. Well what the f*** was I doing for the past 22 years Fowler?’

He also criticised the 22-year-old journalist’s lack of experience. She has worked at Australia’s News Corp for 18 months, specialising in their property sections, after previously writing for street and online press.

‘You did hear people laughing hard for an hour didn’t you? Best you stick to real estate and food,’ Mooney wrote.  ‘Your review is a piece of shit, your journalism is worse and your hundred word thesis on the difference between … sweet Jesus.’

He added that the review was ‘a thoughtless, insouciant swipe from a fucking amateur.  She is a tiny mind.’

At first, Fowler responded by asking: ‘Let’s just be friends,’ then added: ‘Hope attacking me over twitter makes you feel like a big man. Soz  I didn’t like your show. Now let’s all calm the fuck down. My job is to review, it wasn’t to my taste. Get over it.’

Mooney responded: ‘Don’t play victim deadshit you wrote the piece of crap so I’m going to hang it around your neck.’

And he further took her to task for her naivety, saying: ‘You do realise you wrote the word "profanity" in a stand-up review?’

• The 30th Melbourne International Comedy Festival has launched its official programme featuring more that 3,000 performances… including a show from Mooney. International acts attending the near month-long festival, which kicks off on March 23, include Rich Hall, Sarah Millican, Sara Pascoe, Danny Bhoy, David O'Doherty, Arj Barker, Stephen K Amos, Luisa Omielan, Ross Noble, Paul Foot, Mae Martin, Hal Cruttenden, Adam Hess and Sofie Hagen. The programme is online here