When a projector broke down during a screening of The Lost City in Southern California on Tuesday night, one moviegoer took on the task and entertained the audience with stand-up comedy — and her routine went viral on social media.
The film was scheduled to be screened at AMC Burbank 16 on Tuesday night when technical problems delayed the opening by more than half an hour, leaving audiences to sit and wait.
That’s when Tiffany King, stand-up comedian and psychic, says her eight-year-old daughter dared to stand up and perform a set.
Her routine was caught on camera by viewers who tweeted live and shared clips on Twitter in real time.
But while she received at least two applause for her performance, not everyone was impressed with the performance, which included King humming gibberish, singing opera and responding with a vocal scream.
When the projector broke down during a screening of The Lost City at AMC Burbank 16 on Tuesday night, comedian Tiffany King stood in front of the audience and performed a 15-minute stand-up set.
One viral clip shows King chanting gibberish, singing opera and jumping.
In one clip, she cuts out the words saying she believes in Buddha and states that “Jesus never married”, though the punch lines appear to have been cut out.
Twitter started after 10 pm on Tuesday.
“I’m at AMC waiting for The Lost City,” writer Kat Wood tweeted. “The projector broke down, it has been repaired for 30 minutes. The woman in the audience decided to get up, come forward and try her stand-up comedy on us. This is not good. I just…’
“I’m watching a movie on AMC but it’s delayed,” wrote April Dawn. “Damn, not this chick got up and did stand-up for the last 10 minutes and I want to crawl out of my skin and die.
“I feel like I’m out of my body,” she added, sharing the video.
On Wednesday morning, musician Charlie Damsky shared a selection of the best moments of the performance.
“All hell broke loose at AMC Burbank 16 last night,” he wrote.
King, pictured, was not invited to the stand-up show, but kept the theater busy while the projector was being dealt with.
She said she performed at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles.
Its one-minute and forty-second clip, which has been viewed 1.3 million times, begins with King imagining herself as a single mother.
She later goes from her saying that she believes in the Buddha to stating that “Jesus never married”, though the punch lines appear to have been cut out.
Things take a strange turn when King asks the room if “anyone else sings” before demonstrating this by singing gibberish.
Shortly after, she encounters a bully who yells, “Put us out of our misery!”
– Save us from suffering? Oh, she replies. “Do you want to come down to listen and try to entertain people?” You’re trying to dim my light, so you need something.
Moviegoers tweeted about the experience, but their assessment was not so flattering.
“I never thought I would see a racist Asian,” she adds, although the context is unclear.
Kevin Young, an audience member, tweeted that someone responded, “You’ve been doing blackcent for 20 minutes.”
Toward the end of the video, she performs an opera she wrote herself.
The audience can be heard applauding King after her solo in the opera and at the end of her set, but Twitter users have reacted less enthusiastically.
“Is there a word for when you’re afraid that someone is about to demonstrate an impromptu stand in a place where you feel trapped?” wrote one.
“I can’t believe no one booed her…God gave you a lifetime chance to become a hater and change the lives of many people, and you didn’t take it,” said another.
Although the audience can be heard applauding King after the opera solo and at the end of the performance, Twitter users have reacted less enthusiastically.
“I honestly hate it when I’m bored and some weirdo gets up and does something memorable. I’m trying to travel through this life without getting any anecdotes. I want life to wash over me,” wrote another.
“Unsolicited comedy should be a felony,” wrote another.
Others, however, gave her props.
“It doesn’t matter if she was good; it takes incredible courage to stand in front of the crowd,” wrote one of them.
“I would 100% cheer her up,” wrote another. “The projector broke and she saw a chance to show them her comedy. Funny or not, she tried to make lemonade there!
Others, however, supported her, with one saying, “It takes incredible courage to stand in front of a crowd.”
King said her eight-year-old daughter dared to come forward during the lull before the film.
“I know how heavy comedy is, so I’m happy that I did it and I don’t care about the negativity,” she said.
Speaking to NBC News, King said her eight-year-old daughter dared to come forward during the lull before the film.
“I did it to have fun and make my daughter smile,” she explained.
She added that she didn’t really intend to do the set and initially said she was just joking when she got up, but said someone asked her to tell a joke and she did it for 15 minutes.
Although she was interrupted, she said that the audience enjoyed it.
“It takes consistency to do comedy, and being a single mom didn’t have that on my side,” she added. “I know how hard comedy is, so I’m happy that I did it and I don’t care what the negative is.”