New York Comedy Club cancels Ari Shaffir act after threats over Kobe Bryant joke

The New York Comedy Club canceled a performance by Ari Shaffir after he called Kobe Bryant a rapist on Twitter hours after the NBA legend’s death.

Shaffir was scheduled to perform Tuesday, but the Kips Bay venue received threats after Shaffir tweeted Bryant “got away with rape because all the Hollywood liberals … enjoy rooting for the Lakers more than they dislike rape. Big ups to the hero who forgot to gas up his chopper.”

The club canceled his performance and filed an aggravated-harassment report with police over the threats. Shaffir later turned to Instagram to say it was “just a joke” and recounted his long history of making fun of the recently deceased.

“Every time a beloved celebrity dies I post some horrible s–t about them,” he wrote.





“I’ve been doing it for years now. I like destroying gods. And right when a famous person dies they’re at their most worshipped. So as a response to all the outpouring of sympathy on social media, I post something vile. it’s just a joke. I don’t really hate any of the people,” he added.

Shaffir was also dropped by his talent agency in the wake of the tweets.





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