02/08/2025
PSA FOR ENTERTAINERS: Your audience is the HERO, not your victim.
I just witnessed one of the cringiest videos ever - a street magician performing in front of three young girls who appeared to be teenagers. He picked the middle one and asked her to think about who she lost her virginity to, then grabbed her hands to "read her mind." All three girls' nervous laughter said everything. They were uncomfortable as hell, but playing along because that's what people do when an entertainer puts them in an impossible position.
LISTEN UP: Anyone who knows me knows I can be a bit perverted. But the stage is NOT the place for it. After 50+ years in this business, I know that no audience member should EVER feel embarrassed, uneasy, intimidated, or sexually harassed.
Here's the deal: When someone watches your show, they're putting total trust in you. Your job is to let them escape their daily grind - whether through comedy, music, or magic. Your goal should ALWAYS be to elevate them, never the opposite.
To audience members: If you're not the hero of the journey, that performer failed you. Get up and walk away.
To entertainers: If it's more about you than them, you've failed your audience. Get your s**t together. Get off the stage until you can get over your insecurities and stop thinking you need this kind of amateur-hour material.
If you've experienced this as an audience member, I'm sorry. You deserved better. Even if you're being playfully roasted, you should walk away feeling BETTER than when you arrived.
Bottom line: The same audience that supports you can take you down. Don't give them a reason to.
I will forever call s**t, s**t, when I see it.
SOUND OFF in the comments:
Audience members - Ever been put in an uncomfortable spot by a performer? How did it feel?
Fellow entertainers - Where do YOU draw the line between edgy and exploitative?
Everyone - Share this if you believe audiences deserve better. Let's raise the damn bar together.
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