Man calls police on comic after joke about Middle East makes him ‘uncomfortable’
Comedian Ahmed Ahmed, who is of Egyptian descent, joked about the Middle East during a stand-up set on Saturday, which made one audience member so 'uncomfortable' that he called police.
A man called police on a comedian because he was made ‘uncomfortable’ after hearing a joke about the Middle East.
Ahmed Ahmed, a comedian of Egyptian descent, had been mocking negative Muslim stereotypes at Off The Hook Comedy Club in Napes, Florida on Saturday night.
During his set, he told the audience: ‘Clap if you’re from the Middle East,’
After cheers from audience members, Ahmed continues, saying: ‘All right. We got a handful of us in here, nice. But, hey, it only takes one of us…to tell a joke.’
Once the show ended, a man who had been in the audience called police and told the deputy that he feared Ahmed may have been organizing Muslims to commit terrorism.
In the 911 phone call obtained by the Naples Daily News, the man is heard retelling the joke a bit differently.
The caller tells the police dispatcher: ‘(Ahmed) said, “That’s great.”He said, “We can organize our own little terrorist organization,” and I don’t think that was right. I mean it really bothered me. ‘And I yelled out, “And the paddy wagon is going to be outside to get all of you.”
He then added: ‘My wife an I looked at each other and we felt very uncomfortable.’
The dispatcher tells the man that she will send a deputy to follow up, although she does not sound too concerned during the phone call.
Deputies showed up at the comedy club the next day and spoke to Ahmed with big smiles on their faces. They said it was their first time responding to a call about an comedian who made his audience uncomfortable.
Ahmed later said of the deputies that ‘They couldn’t have been nicer. One of them said, “Don’t change anything, keep doing what you’re doing.” That was refreshing to hear.’
This happened to me last night @OTHComedyClub in Naples, Florida! An audience member called 9-11 on me because “they feared for their lives” over a joke I told on stage. That’s never happened to me or any comedian I believe. Fucking crazy man. The cops were even like “WTF”? ????????♂️????????♂️ pic.twitter.com/hQezwJPXhw
— AHMED AHMED (@ahmedcomedy) May 13, 2019
He told NBC News on Wednesday that the ‘it only takes of of us’ line is a regular feature of his act and it had never prompted a call to the authorities until now.
Ahmed said he holds no malice towards the caller – instead said he would like to thank him.
‘He got more publicity for me in that one phone call than ever. You want to talk about a blessing in disguise,’ he said.