Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville, California, has given outraged customers full refunds for their George Lopez tickets after the actor and comedian stormed off stage Friday over hecklers, ending his sold-out show 30 minutes early.
“Come on, please, just watch the show. That’s all you have to do. Don’t even fucking laugh if you don’t want to. I don’t give a fuck. Just relax, man. Seriously,” Lopez said to heckling audience members before storming off stage.
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Fans were outraged and took to social media to express their sentiments.
“I paid a good amount of money for those tickets only for this to happen,” one social media user commented on Facebook.
“How long has George Lopez been in the business that he can’t handle hecklers?” another asked.
“Since when can’t a comedian handle a heckler?” another echoed.
Another social media user on X claimed that the catalyst for Lopez taking offense was when a female audience member asked to buy him a drink, writing, “‘Can I buy you a drink’ is all she said to you.”
“It was not like he had 100 people heckling him. Maybe like 4,” another maintained in a Facebook comment. “All it was was people yelling we love you and making references to old jokes. Nothing bad in my opinion happen tonight for George Lopez to walk out!!”
The George Lopez star reportedly blamed Eagle Mountain Casino for his walkout, saying the venue failed to provide guests with a good experience and allowed for an “oversized and unruly” audience to be in attendance.
“It’s the venue or casino’s job to provide a good experience for both the artist and the fans, but the casino failed in this regard,” Lopez’s team told TMZ. “The audience was overserved and unruly, and the casino staff was unable to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for the artist and guests.”
“George’s personal security team worked with the venue security staff to maintain order, ensure safety, and eject disruptive individuals. Unfortunately, the casino security team was not adequate to accomplish this task,” the actor’s representatives continued in their statement.
Lopez’s team concluded by asserting that “George is not obligated to perform in an unsafe environment,” adding, “He feels badly that those who came to see the show were unable to do so as a result.”
After the walkout, Eagle Mountain Casino addressed the incident in a Facebook post, saying, “Tonight George Lopez let down his fans and sold out audience by walking out and ending his show 30 minutes early.”
“George hired his own private security that could have easily escorted any hecklers out,” the casino continued. “We had a pre show meeting to have a plan in place for hecklers. He could have provided us an opportunity to allow our security and team to escort any hecklers out since his own private security did not.”
“George decided to not continue with the show and leave,” Eagle Mountain Casino added. “He rescheduled his initial show on 4/20 due to a medical emergency and we were very patient with him and only wished him the best.”
“Tonight we went above and beyond to provide George with first class service from his arrival to the property to the start of his show,” the casino said. “We never want to let our guests down and we are as disappointed and shocked as you are.”
On Monday, Eagle Mountain Casino released a follow-up statement telling attendees that the casino would be refunding their Lopez tickets, as well as offer them free tickets to any future show at the casino in 2024.
“Eagle Mountain Casino apologizes for the recent experience during the George Lopez show and is offering all attendees a full reimbursement AND free tickets to any future 2024 show,” the casino said.
The casino further lambasted Lopez for the actor’s statement following his walkout.
“The claims of unruly guests are not consistent with casino footage and surveillance,” the venue asserted.
“Once Lopez walked to his dressing room, he nor his team offered an apology to the casino team or guests not any explanation as to why Mr. Lopez did not want to continue,” the casino added.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.