George Lopez Walks Off Stage at Comedy Show Due to Hecklers, Claims Casino 'Failed' to Provide a 'Good Experience'
Though Lopez's rep claimed Eagle Mountain Casino was at fault for failing to "eject disruptive individuals," the casino insisted his team never asked them to intervene and "no guests were unruly"
George Lopez walked off stage at his latest comedy show after hecklers didn’t listen to his warnings.
The comedian, 63, was performing at Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville, California over the weekend when some audience members grew loud. In a video obtained by TMZ, Lopez can be heard giving three chances for the crowd to quiet down before leaving.
"Now seriously, I seem like an a--hole, I'm the one working,” he said after he told the audience they had already been warned twice. “Come on, please, just watch the f---ing show, that's all you have to do."
When the hecklers continued, Lopez put the microphone back on the stand and exited the stage 30 minutes early, saying, “That’s cool, thanks,” and waving goodbye.
In a statement to TMZ, Lopez’s rep claimed the casino staff was at fault for the incident.
"It’s the venue or casino’s job to provide a good experience for both the artist and the fans, but the casino failed in this regard. The audience was overserved and unruly, and the casino staff was unable to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for the artist and guests," his rep said.
"George’s personal security team worked with the venue security staff to maintain order, ensure safety, and eject disruptive individuals. Unfortunately, the casino security team was not adequate to accomplish this task," the rep continued. "George is not obligated to perform in an unsafe environment. He feels badly that those who came to see the show were unable to do so as a result.”
However, in a press release on their website, a spokesperson for the casino accused Lopez of not giving them a chance to solve the issue or requesting security escort hecklers out, per protocol.
“Casino security and Lopez security team worked together to make sure there was no filming with phones as requested by Lopez,” the release read. “It was the job of Lopez's private security team to inform casino security if they wanted to escort anyone out which never occurred. Under the casino's discretion, no guests were unruly or providing an unsafe environment.”
The spokesperson also said that while the guests were loud, it was not clear that they were disrupting the show, before reiterating that if Lopez asked for assistance in removing certain attendees, the venue security would have done so.
"Mr. Lopez or his private security had every opportunity to inform the casino team if they wanted a guest escorted out and they did not," the release read.
“While we did see guests yelling out, we see recordings showing those saying – we love you, can we buy you a drink, etc,” Assistant General Manager Tiffani Sahagun added in a statement. “We also know that at a comedy show, there are also likely some outbursts that casino security would have been happy to address had any issue been made known."
Sahagun continued: "We only want for our guests to have a safe and enjoyable experience, and we want our entertainers to feel safe and enjoy coming to Porterville as well.”
The casino spokesperson also noted that there had been two acts before Lopez, and neither comedian had any issues with heckling despite having the same audience.
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The casino is now offering a full reimbursement for guests of the show.
PEOPLE has reached out to Lopez's rep and a spokesperson at Eagle Mountain Casino for additional comment.
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