A comedian sparked intense debate after telling parents to not bring their babies to comedy shows. The comments on Twitter eventually devolved into jokes.
Matt Forde, an English comedian and radio presenter, took to Twitter to complain about a father who took his infant to Forde’s comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe.
And he wasn’t a fan of the little human.
\u201cSomeone brought their baby to my show last night. Sadly it derailed large parts of it because they wouldn't do the decent thing and just leave when it started crying. I get that it must be tough as a new parent but please, don't bring babies to adult shows. It's always a problem.\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
In Forde’s tweet, he laments the baby at the show and pins the blame on the parent for bringing them.
He says:
“Sadly it derailed large parts of it because they wouldn't do the decent thing and just leave when it started crying. I get that it must be tough as a new parent but please, don't bring babies to adult shows.”
Forde did update with a little more clarification. He admitted it sounded a “bit whiny” but he doesn’t want this to happen again.
He compared the baby crying to someone’s phone going off and never silencing it. Supposedly, people messaged him about the show after to politely complain.
This led to some debate on the matter online.
\u201c@mattforde As long as you realise this is incredibly sexist as young, breastfed babies can\u2019t be left at home. I hope your t&cs made it clear that no babies were allowed at your show & if so surely it is a problem for your door staff or are u happy to take peoples money then shame them?\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201c@mattforde Not saying this should happen, but say they couldn't get child care and you insist they don't bring the child, would you offer a refund?\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201c@mattforde It's selfish of them. \n\nPlain and simple. \n\nBe exactly the same if they attended a play or the cinema.\n\nEither get someone to baby sit or stay away.\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201c@mattforde Good grief. Well if I ever planned to come to a show I certainly won't be any more! What an attitude to have \ud83d\ude21 as a parent of 2, I'd be feeling sorry for the parent of the crying baby - it's hard enough without this kind of attitude!\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201c@Dextertyson51 @mattforde Bringing a baby is fine, just leave if it's unsettled\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201c@IceSolitaire @mattforde Completely agree. I'm a parent who breast fed my children to a year. I had to fit around my parenting role for that year not my social life! A very small price to pay to bring a human life into this world \u2764\ufe0f\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201c@Independent Anyone who sides with the parents probably doing so as they dislike Matt.\nNo excuses for Parents taking babies along to shows like this.\u201d— The Independent (@The Independent) 1660727025
There was a lot of support for Forde’s point. Comments seemed to think it’s selfish for people to bring their babies to public performances.
Even the most generous version of this opinion agreed that parents need to take their kids out of the show if they can’t get them to stop crying and disrupting the performance.
Others were more sympathetic to the parents. It can be difficult to find a sitter and get the time to go see something when you’re raising a child, you can often feel like you don’t have a choice.
Others were divided based on the source of the debate. Not everyone is a fan of the comedian, but had to admit he had a point.
This might have been why comments devolved into jokes at the comedian’s expense.
\u201c@tinshh @mattforde And to make matters worse, what if the baby was also an orphan!\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201c@Independent In what universe is Matt Forde a comedian?\u201d— The Independent (@The Independent) 1660728068
\u201c@BBCLauraKT @mattforde Yes, do we have proof it was the baby crying\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201c@mattforde Surely they could have left it in the car? \nwindows down a bit, packet of crisps, bottle of water, fresh nappy. \nleave the radio on or even give it an iPad (never notice you\u2019re gone) \nI mean it\u2019s not rocket science\nNip out during the interval to check. \nJeez parents these days.\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201c@mattforde Quite right, there's only room for one grizzly little child at a Matt Forde show!\u201d— Matt Forde (@Matt Forde) 1660652992
\u201cIt\u2019s not their fault that Forde can\u2019t deal with baby hecklers\u201d— alastair\u2019s starting to happen (@alastair\u2019s starting to happen) 1660731732
Celebrities tend to react to children in wildly different ways. Earlier this month, another celebrity, was associated with a baby and handled it with good nature.
Woody Harrelson was compared to a baby that bore a striking resemblance to the actor. His response is everything.
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