With just two days' notice

American comedian Jen Kirkman has pulled her UK dates - just two days before they were due to start.

The stand-up and podcaster said she had other work that clashed with her six-day residency at the Soho Theatre, which was due to start on Monday.

And she blamed the venue for not letting her reschedule.

In a tweet this afternoon, she said: 'London. I am sorry that I had to cancel my shows next week. It’s a work conflict. I tried to reschedule but the theatre won’t let me. 99% of the time that’s what’s done. So please don’t 100% hate me.'

One follower who apparently had tickets pointed out that fans would still be out of pocket if thet had brought advance trail tickets to London to see the shows.

In response, she said: 'It’s costing me thousands in a penalty fee so please stop guilting me. And less than 200 folks had bought advanced tickets anyway.'

The Twitter user came back: 'Your guilt is yours to own; I’m not responsible for that. But maybe don’t email folk saying how much "respecting my audience" matters and then pull a show at short notice, which will leave some of them out of pocket. I hope the other work you’ve decided to prioritise goes well.'

Then Kirkman accused him of bullying, saying: 'I’m not sure why you’re being so awful. Performers sometimes have to cancel and it sucks. Hard choices have to be made sometimes. And bullying someone with anxiety who had to make a tough call isn’t kind.'

Kirkman also pulled her show at Manchester's Frog And Bucket next Sunday as part of the city's Women In Comedy Festival. However, she is still playing Amsterdam on October 8 and Oslo on October 13.

Published: 28 Sep 2019