An audience member attacked a gay magician during a performance aboard Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas, and the cruise ship refused to take action.
Ben Murphy, a gay man from Australia who disclosed his sexuality in the show, brought up a female volunteer to help him perform a card trick involving both participants getting close together while each holds a card between their lips.
As Murphy and the volunteer leaned towards each other to tap their cards as part of the trick, Murphy was suddenly shoved violently by a male audience member who lunged at him out of nowhere.
The audience presumed the attacker was the woman's husband; however, their relationship remains unconfirmed by media reports.
Regardless of the nature of their relationship, it appears the mystery attacker was offended by the intimate routine.
Murphy is still emotionally rattled from the trauma after watching footage captured and shared by passengers.
He recalled the scary incident with the Australian news show, A Current Affair, saying:
"I just remember this really angry-looking face just dive out of the audience and jump on top of me."
He said that his legs got slammed onto the back of the stage and he fell backward during the attack.
For Murphy, the image of the man's "angry face" on top of him still lingered regardless of the clips that were shown to him in the interview.
"It's kind of in a loop in my head anyway. And so I just don't understand it."
He added:
"I just think it's just so violent, so sudden, and so unnecessary."
"It’s a comedy magic show with a guy in a sequined jacket who’s just openly talked about being gay.”
The magician said the attacker looked sort of "dazed and confused" after the woman shoved the man whom she appeared to recognize away from the stage.
You can watch a clip here.
The audience jeered and booed the attacker as the theater house lights came back on.
After Murphy helped the woman off the stage, he exited into the wing and complained to the staff about what happened.
The next day, Murphy was upset and disappointed at seeing his attacker enjoying the ship's amenities, indicating there were no consequences for his violence.
Murphy said Royal Caribbean allegedly took no action because there were no witnesses, which he thought was a lame excuse.
“I found this really bizarre that there’s no witnesses,” said Murphy.
“How I can be sat on stage and attacked in the middle of a show and there be no witnesses."
"It is just, it’s rubbish, it’s offensive. It’s negligent. It's disturbing.”
However, in contrast to what the cruise operator claimed, passengers took to social media and posted their dismay and shock.
"We were in the audience for this and my jaw nearly hit the floor," wrote one social media user.
Another said:
"We were at this show. We also assumed he would've been locked up."
A third wrote:
"This is absolutely absurd. If I punched another passenger I'd be locked in my room and off the ship at the next port."
Murphy compared the incident to the infamous slap at last year's Academy Awards show when Will Smith smacked Chris Rock across the face for a bald joke aimed at Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
"There seems to be a common thread that Chris Rock's attacker got an Oscar and my attacker gets to enjoy their holiday."
"I just think what sort of message is that sending to people, you know?"
"The star of the show can get attacked. What happens to anyone else?"
When Murphy debarked from the ship, he reported the incident to the Queensland police.
"I had to get off the ship and go to the police station and say 'I don't know who attacked me. It happened on a ship. I was told there were no witnesses, but here are all the videos.'"
Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying they were aware of the situation and that an investigation was ongoing.
"At Royal Caribbean International the safety of our crew and guests is our number one priority.”
“We are aware of the incident that took place aboard Quantum of the Seas."
"Our investigation into this incident is ongoing and as such, we are unable to provide further comment.”
Murphy said that the Queensland police have yet to receive the attacker's name from Royal Caribbean.
