Trevor Noah is a complacent and irresponsible artist, says Grammy winner Ricky Kej, in response to comedian’s Bengaluru bashing

Popular TV host and standup comedian Trevor Noah’s recent India tour became quite the talking point, not so much for his jokes, but for the fact that he had to cancel both of his shows in Bengaluru, after getting caught in the city’s infamous traffic snarls and arriving late at the venue, only to find that the venue’s sound system was far from satisfactory. While Trevor said he and his team did their best to rectify the issue and failed and later promised to return to Bengaluru in the future, city-based musician and Grammy winner Ricky Kej did not buy that explanation.

For starters, Ricky thought that as a responsible and caring artiste who values his ticket-paying audience, Trevor should have done a soundcheck and venue recce before carrying out a show. The comedian, Ricky said, should have arrived earlier in the day (or the previous night) and personally carried out a reconnaissance of the venue, tested out his microphone and ensured that the sound was optimum.

“I am sure he does that at other prestigious venues all over the world, and I am shocked to realize he did not bother to do this in Bengaluru. This is the artists responsibility. Every artist/comedian/band has personal sound requirements and preferences.. and to just show up for the event, without even checking your sound is hugely irresponsible. It was the audience that got punished in the process.. audiences that paid money and travelled to experience him,” wrote Ricky.

He added that if Trevor wanted screens as he mentioned in his Mumbai rant, then he should have asked for them, given specifications. Also, if he wanted a specific venue, he should have asked for it and ensured that the event organizers get it sorted. Ricky pointed out that Bengaluru did not deserve to be trashed, when international musicians and bands like Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, Metallica, Symphony Orchestras, Russel Peters, etc. have had super successful events in the city. In fact, Yanni had performed in the same venue in 2014, and the sound and experience was fantastic. This, said Ricky, was because Yanni worked with everyone involved to deliver a spectacular concert.

From lack of audio to bathrooms - Trevor Noah's Bengaluru show disaster sparks massive outrage 

“Yanni cared about his fans. Trevor also attributed this incident to "India" as a whole, which is in very bad taste. This is definitely a case of terrible event management, but more importantly a very complacent and irresponsible artist with a complete disregard for his paying fans (and India).. who blames everyone and everything but himself,” he signed off.