Andrew Lawrence, whose post on X was roundly criticised as disgraceful, accused the venue of lacking courage after his gig was cancelled
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Andrew Lawrence
Andrew Lawrence(Image: Midweek Visiter)
A comedy club has stood by its statement after a show involving a comedian who made a "horrific" comment about a crash which injured dozens of people following Liverpool FC's Premier League parade was cancelled. At least 79 people were injured after a car ploughed into a crowd of pedestrians on Water Street on Monday evening, following the open-top bus parade through the city to celebrate Liverpool's champions.
A 53-year-old white British man from West Derby has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, dangerous driving offences and driving while unfit through drugs.
Comedian Andrew Lawrence's forthcoming show at Caddies Southend was cancelled after he posted a comment about the incident on social media yesterday. On X (formerly Twitter), he said: "To be fair, if I was in Liverpool, I'd drive through crowds of people to get the f**k out of there as well."
The comment was roundly criticised and a number of people reportedly contacted the Essex venue to complain. Liverpool FC reporter for The Athletic and former ECHO LFC correspondent James Pearce replied to Mr Lawrence's post to say: "Horrific. You’re a disgrace"
Responding on X, Garston-born actor Barry Sloane said: "You absolute disgrace." Hillsborough Survivors Support Alliance CIC said: "A comedian really? You're an embarrassment to the profession."
Caddies announced on X this morning that the show had been cancelled by the event organisers. It added: "We do not condone or support the comment that has been made online, and we send everyone impacted by the tragic events in Liverpool our support and prayers."
Mr Lawrence, whose X profile describes him as a "comedian on YouTube" and his website says he is: "one of the most highly regarded, in demand live stand-up comedians in the UK", then responded claiming the venue had failed to show "courage".
He posted: "This venue lost their courage after being bombarded with abuse and threats of violence from online trolls.
"Understandable, but disappointing. I will reschedule for later in the year at a different venue Southend, sorry for the inconvenience, have a great day."
He restricted replies on the post so that only those he can follow could respond. However, people could still quote the post with a comment.
The ECHO put Mr Lawrence's claims about "courage" to the venue. Caddies stood by its earlier statement.
A spokesperson for Caddies said: "We have been notified by the event organisers who had hired our Comedy Club for the Andrew Lawrence night, that they have cancelled the event.
"We do not condone or support the comment that has been made online, and we send everyone impacted by the tragic events in Liverpool our support and prayers.
"We will be unable to respond to everyone individually regarding this matter, we are a small independent business and sadly don’t have the infrastructure to deal with such volumes.
"The event organiser will be contacting ticket holders in the coming days to arrange refunds."