Dear Council,
I’m writing you to relay my disturbing experience last night at the comedy benefit sponsored by the city at Plummer Park. This event was held outdoors on the lawn of Plummer Park just adjacent to the playground. Children under 10 were present in the audience and within earshot of the event.
While I appreciated the event and the cause it was fundraising for, some of the comedians were using obscene sexually explicit language and content. some topics and language used included:
- Sucking cocks
- Getting cummed on
- Penis/cock/pussy/clit
- Double sided dildos
- Jokes about molesting children
At a certain point I had to ask the comedians to adjust their content for the audience that included children. While the comedian heckled me for my comment, the audience (and the parents in the park who were appalled at what was happening) seemed to agree with me.
Meanwhile Mr Erickson in the front row remained silent and glared at me crueLty for trying to protect the children in attendance.
There is a way to do adult humor that goes over children’s heads without being explicit, and some of the comedians were able to maintain standards and still be edgy/funny. Overall the parents at the park seemed disturbed and offended that this event happened without meaningful guidelines from Mr. Erickson.
This is the type of thing that Fox News loves to broadcast nationally to discredit and vilify our community.
For optics alone, this was a very poorly executed event, and seemed to have no guidelines setting what is appropriate for a public community event in a childrens park. This very well may even be illegal, and a police report warranted.
I expect meaningful redress from the CC and City Attorney concerning this event and Mr Erickson’s failure to moderate it.
All the best,
West Seegmiller
SWLEARN Research Partner
Westthethird@gmail.com | 949.293.0413
Former Director SWOPLA | SWOPLosAngeles.org
Guitars and ears to match. Meet Bleep got invited to come along.
Maybe it is time for the langauge use on-stage to be moderated by the parks department.There were kids in the audience so I find using foul language unacceptable in that kind of setting.
Too bad John Erickson couldn’t set the example and go find a stage manager to stop the language used.
If you are a parent in West Hollywood and have children. It might be safe. But Shyne’s unisex public bathrooms are the ideal place for the many registered sex offenders in the city. Plus keep your children away from John Erickson. He is obviously into practicing grooming children by his reactions and comments at this performance.
There was a time when I enjoyed “blue humor”, but then I grew up! Unfortunately, that’s about all we have now, so I just don’t bother to go. It just isn’t funny! I watched part of a performer’s act on HBO (?) recently and I counted his use of “f…” six times in one sentence. I’m long passed enjoying shock and giggling like and eighth grader, to now just being really tired of it.
Far be it from me to suggest that perhaps the best place for “children under 10” in the evening would be at home. Nor would I point out that it is churlish at best to move to a city like West Hollywood and expect a totally g-rated, Chucky-Cheese life experience for your tykes. I would never point out that the GLBTQ++ community has had to spend literally centuries self-censoring in the interest of not only hot offending but actual survival and that rather than coming to WeHo and complaining to the City Attorney about jokes you found offensive that perhaps… Read more »
It was the early evening while the park was full of kids. Anyone that actually uses that park knows children are there at that time, especially kids of working class families.
“Don’t like it? MOVE!” isn’t a very progressive mentality, my friend.
The playground in earshot was full of kids and kids were in the audience. To paraphrase the MC of the event, “Some of those jokes were not appropriate for children! Don’t worry, John (Erickson), we won’t post that on instagram!”
What does being a former sex worker have to do with protecting little kids from explicit sexual content in public?
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/florida-school-transgender-bathroom-rule/51d49797-941b-43d7-8591-226b23893a15/
Issue regarding parental notification concerning Transgender Bathrooms in Florida
This this this!
If WeHo is not the proper place to raise children, then why did John Erickson, when he was on the planning commission, push to approve a preschool (which, btw, was approved,) right in the heart of WeHo on San Vicente Blvd. just below Sunset Boulevard? And in his argument for the preschool, he said that more and more families are moving to West Hollywood and that we need a facility like that for young children. The original preschool was supposed to have been on Sunset Boulevard where Spago used to be, but that location was deemed inappropriate by many residents… Read more »
West Hollywood is not a place for children. I think there’s a park in Brentwood where you can take your kids and not have them hear the word cock.
Sorry to burst your bubble, kids are very much a part of WEHO and will become increasingly more in time to come. More same sex couples having kids and Heterosexuals moving in and changing the landscape. Get used to it.
It’s certainly not safe for children.
Given that ever more same-sex couples are starting families, “gay” and “family-friendly” are no longer opposed to each other.
I was one of the comics on this bill and the only person in the audience who objected to the content was this gentleman- who very rudely heckled a Black queer man as he did his hilarious act; which was billed as an LGBTQ+ comedy show.
Comics gave warnings/ edited their jokes if a child was engaging with the comedy- rather than just running around oblivious – to the few parents of a couple of children there- who were not in agreement with this heckler.
Did John Erickson provide any guidance To you and other performers? That’s the issue at hand, and ultimately where the responsibility lies.
I was 100% respectful to the comedian, while he tried to humiliate me on stage. I even told him and the other performers they did a good job afterwards. And I spoke to parents at the park during the event. Did you?
Hiding behind a woke sheild is lazy. Were you by chance the comedian that was joking about child molestation while little girls did cartwheels directly behind you?
Not I don’t do any material about children in my act. You left in a huff before I was on stage
I was there for the entire event, maybe the stage lighting compromised your vision. Take this as a learning moment, If I were you I’d be upset that Erickson put you and the others in this situation.
Yeah, I stayed till the end and laughed to encourage the good comedians, & considering Erickson’s actions (or lack thereof), someone had to be there.
So apparently I am “the town whore” and simultaneously “the town prude”. Whatever. Can we just protect the kids, please?
Thanks for your thoughtful contribution brother
John, we want to hear you say… I apologize 5 times, 5 times John!
What would Mort Sahl think?
That crass and children don’t mix.
What would Henny Youngman think?
who’s that?
Erickson has the dignity of a rat. What a horrible person.
Rats have dignity.
John Erickson has no dignity.
While the author of this and I have disagreed on many things in the past, I must say he is spot on with this letter. I have lived across from Plummer Park for years, and I try to support activities and programming there such as Shakespeare in the Park and various cultural festivals. So, I strolled over to support some stand-up comedy for a good cause. I understand that many comics work “blue” but most that I have seen over the years, “know their audience” and have different types of acts for different types of audiences. Sadly, this group of… Read more »