Peter Kay ‘humiliated me with weight jibe’ fumes ‘Lisa Riley’ in first TV interview on GMB
A woman who was branded 'Lisa Riley' by Peter Kay and ejected from his Manchester gig has hit back at the comic, appearing on Good Morning Britain on Friday in her first TV interview
The woman kicked out of a recent Peter Kay gig has appeared on Good Morning Britain after the comic compared her to soap star Lisa Riley, saying she feels humiliated and will never watch the comedian on stage again.
Myar Curran, the fan likened to the Emmerdale star by Peter at his recent Manchester show has previously slammed the comedian, accusing him of being a ‘bully’ for comparing her to the Mandy Dingle actress.
At the AO Arena on Saturday night (February 8), Phoenix Nights star Peter halted his performance to have two disruptive fans removed. The comic addressed the incident in a statement released to Good Morning Britain on Tuesday morning.
Speaking herself on the ITV show, Myar said: “I didn’t mean to cause any harm, I was just showing my love as he kicked someone out but he obviously didn’t like it.” She went on to add: “I feel like what I said was not abusive or aggressive – it wasn’t anti-social and I wasn’t drunk. I was just standing up chanting ‘we love you Peter, we do’. It’s just been a bit over the top, his reaction.”
Peter Kay has defended his decision to kick Myar Curran out of his show (
ITV)
Myar admitted she doesn’t want an apology from the comedian but doesn’t think she will ever be able to watch his work again. In a statement shared with the ITV show, Peter said: “At the show on Saturday night, February 8th, in Manchester I had two hecklers disrupting from the very start” he said in the statement posted on Instagram.
“I did my best to address the situation and made light of it, as any comedian would, but unfortunately, their interruptions continued. I then tried to ignore them, hoping they’d settle down, but when the disruption persisted into the second half of the show, I asked the audience around them if they were being bothered by the noise.
“They all shouted “yes,” and when I asked for a show of hands, at least forty raised theirs. At that point, I had no choice but to take action. The lady who was escorted out did bear a striking resemblance to Lisa Riley, though I don’t see how that’s an insult. This was only the second and third time I’ve had to ask someone to leave during my 114 shows over the past three years of this tour.
“As a comedian, you never want to eject anyone, but when repeated disruptions make it impossible to continue, it’s important to consider the experience for the rest of the audience, who’ve paid to see the show without interruption.”
The disruption started when a man, who was persistently shouting ‘garlic bread’, was escorted out first, followed by a woman who exclaimed ‘we love you, Peter’. Reports claim that before she was taken away by security, Peter called her “Lisa Riley”. Myar, the woman in question, attended the event with her father, aunt, best friend, and boyfriend, as an ardent admirer of the Bolton-born funnyman.
The comedian has defended the gag (
Getty Images)
Wearing a zebra top, she was excited to finally witness his live performance. “We bought these tickets ages ago so we’ve been waiting years for this,” said 25 year old Myar to the Manchester Evening News prior to appearing on Good Morning Britain. “We were so looking forward to it. I lost my mum a couple of years ago and she was supposed to come to the show so it was something that was going to be very special to us.”
During the second half of his show, when Myar affectionately yelled out “we love you Peter,” comedian Peter Kay stopped his performance to have security remove her from the venue. Despite her claims of having no ties to a previous heckler and being seated in proximity, as reported by the Manchester Evening News, she was escorted out. From the stage, Kay quipped: “Go on, off you go Lisa Riley.”
The incident left Myar, who had travelled from Scotland specifically for the gig, in tears back at her hotel, feeling humiliated by both Kay’s remarks and the laughter that filled the 23,000-seat arena. She shared her hurt feelings, saying: “I do feel he was on about my weight,” and explained her sensitivity about recent weight gain after becoming a mother.
“I’m self-conscious about that so to go to a show and feel like you’re having the mick taken out of you because of your weight, I was just a bit shocked. I’m annoyed and upset about it. The whole arena was laughing, I think they thought it was part of the show but there was a nastiness to his voice.”
She felt targeted by Peter, as if he wanted the audience to turn on her, adding: “It was like he was trying to get the crowd against me – it just wasn’t nice, to be honest. I did have a cry about it after I got to the hotel room. I was just so upset. It was just a very rubbish situation. My whole family was disgusted by it.”
Peter spoke out about the incident on Tuesday to clarify his recent controversial comment, admitting on Good Morning Britain that he was unaware it could be taken as an insult. He explained, “She did look remarkably like Lisa Riley, I didn’t realise that was an insult.” Elsewhere, Lisa Riley herself took to Instagram to call for an end to the drama, stating: “PLEASE [praying hands emojis] draw a line under this now, I am not offended, never was offended. I love Peter Kay to pieces. Laughter is my favourite medicine.”
