Nick Swardson was kicked off the stage of his own stand-up show Sunday in Beaver Creek, Colorado, where he was hired as the headliner at the Vilar Performing Arts Center.
The venue pulled the plug on Swardson’s microphone after the comedian reportedly got into a heated exchange with his own audience members. Video footage of the incident showed Swardson shouting out at the crowd, who also shouted back, letting him know exactly how they felt about his rant.
“Let’s go!” “What the fuck!” he shouted, as the crowd began to boo and chant “Refund! Refund,” as seen in a video posted by TMZ.
Swardson’s agitation was quite clear to the management at the Vilar Performing Arts Center and the audience members who paid to get in to see his show.
The “Reno 911!” star, who is also known for his numerous appearances in Adam Sandler movies, refused to stand down and kept chanting “Let’s go!”
People could be seen getting out of their seats and grabbing their jackets so they could exit the building, but he appeared to refuse to exit the stage and kept shouting.
At one point, Swardson brought up the late comedian Norm MacDonald, making it clear that he was still processing his loss.
Actor Nick Swardson speaks at “30 Minutes Or Less” Panel during Comic-Con 2011 at the San Diego Convention Center on July 22, 2011 in San Diego, California. Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
“Who here knows who Norm Macdonald is? Let’s go! Yeah!” he shouted out.
Eventually, the venue cut his microphone off entirely and led the famous comedian off the stage.
The director of operations took the stage and informed the irate crowd that the show would not be resuming. He apologized and promised refunds would be issued to make up for the inconvenience.
Comedian Nick Swardson attends the premiere of Columbia Pictures’ “This Is The End” at the Regency Village Theatre on June 3, 2013 in Westwood, California.Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
An email was issued to ticket-holders to apologize for the sudden cancelation of the show that was already in progress.
“We apologize for the negative experience you may have had at this evening’s performance with Nick Swardson. Unfortunately, this show did not meet the Vilar Performing Arts Center’s standards as a world-class presenter of the performing arts,” the Vilar Performing Arts Center said in their statement, according to TMZ.
Comedian Nick Swardson attends the premiere of Netflix’s ‘The Do Over’ at Regal LA Live Stadium 14 on May 16, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images
“Therefore, all tickets will be refunded to the original payment method. Please accept our sincere apologies, and be in touch if there is anything we can do to further assist you,” they said. (RELATED:Richard Lewis Dead At Age 76: REPORT)
The cause of the disturbance has not yet been confirmed.