Minnesota Comedy Club Cancels Ben Bankas Shows After Outcry

What was set to be a landmark weekend for the Laugh Camp Comedy Club in St. Paul, Minnesota, quickly unraveled into controversy and cancellation after comedian Ben Bankas’s jokes about a recent tragedy ignited a firestorm online and offline. The club, a 150-seat venue cherished by locals for its intimate atmosphere and eclectic events, had booked Bankas for six sold-out shows over the weekend of January 30, 2026. But as outrage grew over Bankas’s remarks about Renee Good—a Minneapolis woman fatally shot by an ICE agent earlier that month—the club’s owner, Bill Collins, made the decision to pull the plug, citing safety and liability concerns.

According to Star Tribune, Collins explained, “Honestly, I don’t see any way we can safely present this show in the current climate. I’m not sure any amount of security or preplanning would mitigate the liability I’d face if something happened.” Ticket holders were promptly notified and offered full refunds, a move the club said was necessary as “the risks to our community, staff and guests are too great.”

The controversy began when Bankas, a Canadian comedian now based in Austin, Texas, shared video excerpts from his January 9 and 10 sets in Poughkeepsie, New York, on his Instagram page. The clips—one of which racked up nearly 400,000 likes—featured Bankas mocking the details of Good’s death. He joked, “Her last name was Good. That’s what I said after they shot her in the face,” and went further, calling her a “retard” and suggesting she should have been shot earlier. He also targeted Good’s partner with disparaging remarks. The backlash was swift, with local comedians like Bailey Murphy, who teaches improv at Laugh Camp, describing her reaction as a “pseudo-anxiety attack.” Murphy told Star Tribune, “My jaw just dropped. I wouldn’t even claim it was comedy. He’s just a bully with a microphone.”

Collins, who has managed the club since 2007 and also owns the nearby Alary’s Bar, said the situation escalated rapidly after the videos circulated. “Heightened threats, increasing media attention and civil disorder” left the small club unable to ensure safety, he told NBC News. “We are obligated to place the highest priority on the safety of our guests, staff and talent and we are left with no option but to cancel.”

Bankas, for his part, took to Facebook to voice his disappointment and concern. In a video posted Thursday, he lamented, “I wanted to perform for normal and good people in Minnesota,” and expressed worries for his own safety. Attempts by media outlets to reach Bankas and his representatives were unsuccessful, though his management company, CAA, has insisted on full payment for the canceled shows and has barred other clients from performing at Laugh Camp until financial matters are resolved.

For Bankas, this isn’t the first time controversy has forced a cancellation. As noted by Star Tribune, venues in Calgary and Thunder Bay, Canada, have previously dropped his shows, and the Sault Community Theatre Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, canceled a March 6 appearance, citing a misalignment with their “stated values of respect, inclusion and cultural diversity.” In response, Bankas told the Sault Star newspaper, “Any subject matter that talks about something taboo, you’re going to get people who are upset about it, and I take that as a consequence. But my issue is, it’s only when one side of the conversation is upset that we think about canceling a show.”

Despite the uproar in Minnesota, Bankas’s career appears unscathed in other markets. He has sold out upcoming shows in New York, Toronto, and Columbus, Ohio, and has made appearances on conservative-leaning platforms like Fox News’s “Jesse Watters Primetime” and the “Kill Tony” podcast. The incident, however, has reignited a broader debate over the boundaries of comedy, cancel culture, and free speech. As WJON observed, “There has been so much cancel culture around for several years. You can’t seem to do anything anymore without someone stepping forward and claiming that they were offended and now you should be cancelled.” The article acknowledged that while comedians often push boundaries, some tragedies—like the shooting of Renee Good—should be off-limits. “There really is no funny way to look at it. That’s why his shows were cancelled.”

The episode also drew comparisons to other public figures. As reported by Hollywood in Toto, some critics contrasted Bankas’s fate with that of late-night host Stephen Colbert, who recently made controversial remarks about ICE agents but faced no professional consequences. The piece argued that “the Kimmels of the world can share the ugliest jokes without consequence. They do so with the full support of the Legacy Media. As well they should. Let the public, and the marketplace decide if a comedian can share the jokes they want to tell.”

The cancellation has exposed fault lines across the political spectrum. Some see the move as a necessary step to protect community safety and values, especially in a tense environment following a high-profile shooting. Others argue it’s a troubling example of selective outrage and the so-called “Heckler’s Veto”—where vocal opposition leads to the silencing of certain viewpoints. Bankas himself has positioned his predicament within this larger context, insisting that “these attempts to silence voices flow in one direction.”

Meanwhile, the Laugh Camp Comedy Club faces both financial and reputational fallout. Bankas’s management company has demanded full payment for the canceled performances, and until the dispute is resolved, no other CAA clients will appear at the venue. For a small, independent club, the prospect of losing access to major talent and absorbing a potential loss of more than $17,000 is daunting.

As the dust settles, the incident stands as a vivid illustration of the cultural battles playing out in America’s entertainment venues. The intersection of comedy, tragedy, and public sentiment remains fraught, with performers, venues, and audiences all navigating shifting lines of acceptability and risk. Whether this latest episode leads to lasting changes in how clubs book talent—or how comedians choose their material—remains to be seen. But for now, one thing is clear: the Laugh Camp Comedy Club’s canceled weekend has left a mark that goes far beyond the stage.