Shock comic Ralphie May's weekend show in Bemidji was canceled late Wednesday in response to withering social media fire after an 44-second audio clip surfaced on YouTube of him spewing insults at American Indians.
May had been on the calendar at Bemidji's Sanford Center for Saturday night, but City Council Member Reed Olson said Wednesday evening that it had canceled his appearance on the advice of city leaders.
Bemidji and surrounding areas have a substantial American Indian population, and critics said his humor was mean and racist.
Meanwhile, the raunchy, unapologetic performer took to Twitter to argue the clip was taken out of context and was part of a longer riff against bigots — not their targets.
The clip is a profanity-laced string of stereotypes. May attacks Indians, calling them unemployed alcoholics in need of haircuts. He said they "never made it to the Bronze Age," which is why white settlers took their land with "smallpox blankets and a bag of beads."
On Wednesday, the Sanford Center's Facebook page erupted with outraged comments under the announcement of May's pending show. Arena management posted an apology, but said it was legally obligated to put on the show.
By early evening, however, center managers had spoken with city officials and "asked us to weigh in — actually, just to tell them what to do," Olson said Wednesday night. "Because they're a quasi-governmental entity, we agreed. And as soon as we realized how the show was being received, we said, 'We're just not going to have it here.' "
He said the decision wasn't made at a meeting because the mayor and other city leaders were out of town. "I felt for the center's planners," Olson said. "Had they foreseen how this would have been perceived, they never would have booked this show."
