Angry Spectator Goes After Comic

A comedian's routine went off the rails over the weekend in South Carolina when an audience member jumped up on stage and went after comic Steve Brown, reports TMZ. In video of the event, the man can be seen trying to punch Brown, before picking up the mic stand and swinging it violently at him multiple times. He never connects, however, and when the mic stand flies into the crowd, the man picks up the stool on stage and throws it at Brown. At that point, two members of the audience break up the altercation. Another audience member tells the State that the incident began when Brown began questioning the man, wondering why he came to a comedy club and wasn't laughing.

“I just remember the comedian asked the guy what was his problem,” she says. “The comedian asked, ‘What’s wrong?’ He just shook his head like, move on to somebody else.” The man apparently became enraged and rushed the stage at the Comedy House in Columbia. The Richland County Sheriff's Department was investigating, with an incident reporting identifying the suspect only as "Marvin" and saying that he had been drinking. Two spectators were injured by the mic stand, and a bouncer took a punch to the face, say police. Brown escaped largely unharmed, but in a post to Instagram, he said the incident shows "why these comedy clubs should have well equipped PROFESSIONAL security to protect us entertainers who bring their club so much money." (More comedian stories.)