Gay comedian Sampson McCormick attacked on stage during show
The 36-year-old comic called a heckler out which led to a brief confrontation.
Words: Alastair James; pictures: Twitter/@OfficialSampson
Comedian Sampson McCormick was attacked during a show in California last week.
Footage and reports of the incident from last Wednesday (23 March) have been shared widely on social media following an incident at the Oscars on Sunday (27 March) where actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage.
As just about everyone will know by now, Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance after she had shaved her head while experiencing alopecia.
“How many teeth do you have?”
While footage of Sunday’s incident instantly went viral and was all anyone could talk about the next day, the incident did lead to concerns about the safety of comics.
Last week, Sampson McCormick was performing at the Win-River Resort & Casino in Redding, California, which he has done for seven years.
The 36-year-old told The Advocate that he was heckled by a woman in the audience and, not one to let audiences get away with it, he called her out.
“I started teasing her about the obvious, which was that she only had about three-and-a-half teeth in her mouth,” the comic explains.
In video footage, Sampson can be heard asking someone “How many teeth do you have?” before a woman approaches the stage.
A family of rednecks were in the crowd at my show in Redding,CA tonight—they couldn’t resist me, and I couldn’t resist them. Other than that it was a great show. 😩 pic.twitter.com/A0BL9ZgEAJ
— Sampson (@OfficialSampson) March 24, 2022
According to Susie Maldonado, who was in the audience of around 100 people, a man then approached the stage.
“This big heavy-set tweaker guy then just rushed the stage, yelling ‘what did you say about my sister,'” she told The Advocate. “And I don’t even know if Sampson had the time to react because the guy clocked him hard, and then they began fighting.”
McCormick says the man told him: “I’m going to beat your Black ass,” and that “I just started hitting him back as hard as I could.”
The comedian claims to have hit the attacker a few times before slamming him into a table. At this point, security intervened and bounced the guy out of the show while Sampson carried on with the show.
After the exchange on that last video I posted, the girls boyfriend walked on stage and punched me in the face.
I then had to remind folks I’m from Southeast DC—and after the fight, continued the show.
The only reason the show continued was because I didn’t lose. 😂
— Sampson (@OfficialSampson) March 24, 2022
He adds: “It sounds corny, but I like to bring love to my audience. But don’t mistake my being gay as weak because I grew up in southeast D.C. and I will kick some ass.”
Maldonado says, “After they got kicked out, he just started roasting them and incorporating the whole thing into his show, and it was hilarious. Everybody loved it.”
Sampson has said he is not pressing charges but that suffered a few bruises as well as cuts to the inside of his mouth from his braces.
Attitude’s new-look March/April issue is out now.
