Ricky Kej: Irresponsible of Trevor Noah to blame India for a failed show

Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej is appalled at Trevor Noah for his rant against the venue in Bengaluru after he called off his gig in the city last minute. He feels it is irresponsible of the comedian to shift the blame on the country, instead of taking onus for the same.

Last week, Noah cancelled his show in Bengaluru owing to ‘technical issues’. Now, a video of the Emmy-winning comedian from his Mumbai show is going viral where he is seen talking about the incident, saying that the deplorable conditions of the venue turned out to be the reason behind the cancellation. And Kej is not impressed with his remarks.

“What was odd was that he was not taking any of the blame on himself. While the event organisers needed to do better, Noah also failed as an artist. An artist is responsible for the overall audience experience,” says Kej, who hails from Bengaluru.

The 42-year-old adds, “Especially if the audience has bought tickets to experience the show by the artist. The least an artist can do is do a recce of the venue. Also, every single artist does soundcheck before going up on stage. If he had done that, then this whole problem would have not existed… He is talking about being escorted through an alley and stuff, but his team should have gone beforehand to check the location. Also, he should have checked about the venue online, or reviews before agreeing to perform at the venue in India”.

Here, Kej mentions that he himself has performed at the venue and even attended a show by YANNI. “The entire experience was absolutely perfect. In the rant in Mumbai, he mentions that he is learning a lot about India, which means that he wasn’t blaming the event organisers. He was blaming India as a country, and that doesn’t make sense,” he says, adding, “He says it was the first time that it happened with him, so I Bangaloreans can also say that it is the first time that an artist has come on stage and then left”.

Kej asserts, “He criticised India which was uncalled for. It is very irresponsible on his part. It shows the significance of a person who wants to blame everybody, but himself. The event management did not do a good job, but at the same time, the blame should not squarely go on them, the blame has to go on the artist.

In fact, Kej feels Noah’s appreciative post for India is a way to appease the people who are disturbed by his rant.

“It was to soften whatever has happened. It is to appease people who are angry about his rant,” he ends.