Comedian Michael Rapaport's Thursday night comedy show in Wisconsin was cancelled over the "safety and well-being" of patrons after ongoing demonstrations by pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists.
Rapaport, a Jewish man, has been a vocal supporter of Israel and has heavily criticized pro-Palestinian activists since last year's Oct. 7 invasion of Israel by Islamic militant group Hamas.
Comedy on State, located near the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has experienced weeks of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel demonstrations, announced the cancellation of Rapaport's show in a Thursday email to ticket-holders.
"In light of the current environment downtown, marked by escalating protests and a contentious nature of the dialogue surrounding current affairs, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Thursday show with Michael Rapaport," the venue announced. "The safety and well-being of our audience members, staff, and community are our top priorities, and we believe this decision is in the best interest of all involved."
"We understand that this news may be disappointing, and we want to express our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may cause you," Comedy on State continued. "It was never our intention to put our audience members in a position of discomfort or risk, and we are deeply sorry for any anxiety or uncertainty this situation may have caused. Rest assured that you will receive a full refund for your purchased tickets to your original payment method promptly via Etix."
"Your safety and well-being are of the utmost importance to us, and we are committed to ensuring a positive experience for all our audience members," they concluded.
In an X post, co-founder of think tank Boundless Israel Aviva Klompas called out Comedy on State for "[bowing] to bullies."
"The mob is screaming about the right to free speech, and here they are trying to silence a comedian just because he is Jewish," she wrote
Rapaport responded to Klompas, "Yup!!! Very very very f---ed up!"
"Didn't think that it would get to a point where my beliefs and me standing up for what I know is right regarding Jews, regarding Israel, regarding being Jewish and just the right thing would get to a point where a club would cancel my show because they're afraid of an incident happening," Rapaport said of the show's cancellation during a Thursday episode of his podcast, I AM RAPAPORT.
"Yet here we are, and I'm embarrassed about it," he continued. "I'm not embarrassed because it happened to me. I'm embarrassed because I am speaking out on behalf of Jewish people, speaking out on behalf of the hostages, speaking out on behalf of what I know is right."
