Comedian Ben Bankas Responds After 6 Sold-Out Shows Are Canceled Over Viral Renee Good Video
A comedy club in Minnesota canceled six sold-out shows featuring comedian Ben Bankas over jokes he made about the late Renee Good.
The cancellations come after Bankas shared a clip from a show in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., several days after Good, a mom of three, was fatally shot by an ICE agent on Jan. 7.
In the video, shared to Instagram on Jan. 13, Bankas says, “Her last name was Good. That’s what I said after they shot her,” while also referring to Good’s wife as a “dog” and calling Good “retarded.”
The video has been viewed over eight million times as of Jan. 31.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Bill Collins, owner of Laugh Camp Comedy Club in St. Paul, explained that he canceled Bankas’ shows over safety concerns for audiences and staff.
“After discussions with, and concern from, public authorities, legal counsel and staff, combined with heightened threats, increasing media attention and civil disorder we have determined the risks and related liabilities cannot be overcome,” Collins said in an email to PEOPLE regarding his decision to cancel the shows.
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Ben Bankas/X
The club owner added, “A small club like ours does not have the needed resources to mitigate current risks. We are obligated to place the highest priority on the safety of our guests, staff and talent and we are left with no option but to cancel.”
After viewing Bankas’ video, a number of St. Paul locals said they were prepared to protest at Bankas’s upcoming performances, which were scheduled between Jan. 30 and Feb 1, according to The Minnesota Star Tribune.
It was at this juncture that Collins said he canceled the shows.
“The risks to our community, staff and guests are too great,” Collins, who has run the club since 2007, said while speaking to the outlet. He additionally said that the decision could cost him about $17,000.
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Knot & Anchor Photography
Collins also told the Tribune that Creative Artist Agency (CAA), who currently represents the comedian, is insisting that the club fully compensate Bankas for the canceled shows due to the fact that he was willing to perform. He also told the outlet that CAA will not allow any of its other clients to perform at the club until the matter is fully resolved.
CAA did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Bankas addressed the canceled shows in a video shared on Instagram on Thursday, Jan. 29.
In the clip, he tells an audience, “I just found out that my shows were canceled in Minnesota,” which elicited loud boos from the audience.
‘F-ck ‘em,” he added, seemingly referring to Laugh Camp Comedy Club.
He additionally said that he is “working on new venue and dates for the fine people of Minnesota,” in the post’s caption.
Bankas, who was born in Toronto and now lives in Austin, hosts YouTube's The Tanakas Show, which "reaches more than 10,000 monthly listeners" and has been featured on InfoWars and Fox News, according to his website.
The cancellations come amid a flood of civil unrest in Minnesota following the deaths of both Good and ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who was fatally shot by federal agents on Jan. 24.
Thousands of residents in the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis have since taken to the streets to protest the presence of ICE in their state.
A National Day of Action — also dubbed “ICE Out of Everywhere National Day of Action” — took place on Friday, Jan. 30.
Strike organizers urged people all across the country to take off from work and refrain from shopping in order to “stop funding ICE,” in addition to nation-wide protest, per their website.
