The venue that hosted comedy group the Danger Cats in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood last weekend has apologized, calling the booking a “grave mistake” that won’t be repeated.
A group of protesters gathered outside the show on Sunday, condemning the Danger Cats for selling a T-shirt mocking the victims of serial killer Robert Pickton.
Among the attendees was Michelle Pineault, whose daughter Stephanie Lane was among the human remains found on the Pickton farm.
Addressing the crowd of protesters, Pineault said living a normal life is “impossible” when “degenerates” continue to bring up her family’s tragedy.
“It’s like putting the knife in and turning it,” Pineault said in video shared by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. “It’s inhumane. It’s torture what these people are putting families through.”
The controversial comedians were originally scheduled to perform Sunday at Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy in New Westminster, but the venue cancelled the show amid growing outrage over the Pickton T-shirt, which has since been pulled from the Danger Cats website.
At some point, the performance was moved to an F45 Training location in Vancouver.
On Monday, the business issued a public apology for the booking, stressing that it “does not support or condone the content of the event that took place.”
“Our space was outsourced for private events, and we entrusted a third party to handle the bookings. Unfortunately, a mistake was made, and proper vetting of the event organizers did not occur,” F45 Vancouver Chinatown wrote on Instagram.
“We are beside ourselves and sick that we let this happen in our studio. This is not representative of the values that our gym stands for, and we deeply regret any harm caused to our community.”
The business also said the space will only be used for “health, wellness and fitness purposes” going forward.
CTV News contacted the event organizer, through an email address provided in F45 Vancouver Chinatown’s post, but has not received a response.