‘Disruption’ at NYC comedy show prompts evacuation, viral video appears to show: Was it all a publicity stunt for a TV series?

(NEXSTAR) – A bizarre scene unfolded at a New York City comedy club on Wednesday night when a man partaking in an apparent stunt interrupted a popular comedian’s set.

Mark Normand, a stand-up comedian and podcaster, was performing at New York Comedy Club’s East Village location when a man in a yellow beanie and maroon coat walked onto the stage looking slightly confused, video shared to social media shows. Normand, also seemingly confused, attempted to address and joke about the disturbance while members of security escorted the man off-stage.

“Oh geez, everything alright?” Normand can be heard saying in footage of the incident. Watching the man being taken outside, he’s later heard remarking that the man had been “tased,” though it’s unclear whether Normand was joking.

Normand, too, is soon escorted from the stage. A woman then grabs the microphone and tells the audience that “everything’s fine” before ultimately instructing them to “get up” and “get out” of the venue. Another man identifying himself as the show’s “producer” also takes the stage to tell the crowd to go.

Video from outside the club appears to show the audience gathered around the entrance shortly after the incident, waiting to reenter.

Normand, who has performed on “The Late Show” and “The Tonight Show,” has since indicated the incident was part of a pre-planned stunt, though he said he was not told about it and was not involved.

“No one was injured during my performance last night at New York Comedy Club,” Normand wrote in a statement posted in an Instagram Story. “The disruption was part of a ‘surprise’ activity by show producers HiHi. … I had no prior knowledge that this was going to happen.”

New York Comedy Club also issued a statement on the “disruption,” claiming HiHi had “rented out” the venue on Wednesday for a taping of some sort.

A representative for New York Comedy Club was not immediately available to confirm whether its management was aware of HiHi’s plans. HiHi also did not return a request for comment on Friday morning.

HiHi, meanwhile, appears to be taking credit for the stunt on Instagram. Little other information on HiHi is available via the platform, though HiHi’s website suggests that the group is recruiting people from the New York metro area to partake in “missions” in order to win high-end prizes.

Social media users have since pointed out that Donald Glover, of the Amazon Prime Video series “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” has also been re-posting some of HiHi’s content, leading them to believe this incident — and others like it — are possibly part of a publicity campaign tied to the release of the show. (One of the videos shared by Glover included footage of a man — who appears to be the same man that interrupted Wednesday’s comedy show — being loaded into an SUV in handcuffs, apparently after being removed from the club.)

HiHi is also the name of a “mysterious entity” that Glover’s character communicates with on the Amazon Prime Video series, Vanity Fair reported. (Amazon is also repeatedly listed as a “contest entity” in the official rules for the “HiHi Mission Contest.”)

A representative for Amazon Studios was not immediately available to comment.

Aside from Wednesday’s incident at New York Comedy Club, HiHi’s Instagram page indicates the group’s involvement in other stunts around NYC, including a viral moment from a recent Brooklyn Nets game, during which Tyra Banks was seated between two Furries. They also posted clips from what appeared to be a staged “heist” at an exhibition for an NYC-based artist.

When contacted by Nexstar, the New York Police Department said it had received no complaints or 911 calls related to Wednesday’s disturbance. New York Comedy Club is also offering Wednesday’s guests the opportunity to return to see an “actual” comedy show at the venue, free of charge.