Conservative comedian Steven Crowder’s upcoming Thursday night show at the University of Illinois will not be continuing as planned because extra security was unable to be provided by the university.
“One thing that was made abundantly clear however, was that regardless of finances or circumstances, we would not be provided the necessary security to ensure the safety of the event, my team, and even audience members,” Crowder said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The same would hold true for any event at Lincoln Hall with an additional few HUNDRED on a waiting list to attend, regardless of politics.”
Recommended Stories
Crowder requested more security because of the scale of the highly-politicized event, which can sometimes become heated as participants exchange conflicting viewpoints.
At Lincoln Hall, Crowder was going to be taping a live episode of his “Change My Mind” segment that airs on YouTube. In the segments, Crowder presents his stance – being pro-life or believing there are only two genders – and then invites people to come up and change his mind by engaging in a one-on-one debate.
The event will still take place in Urbana, Ill.,Thursday; however, instead of happening at Lincoln Hall in front of hundreds of people, it will be on a much smaller scale off-campus. The Crowder team will also be paying out of pocket for the security team.
“It may not be the show we’d all hoped and planned to perform but hey, we’re going to show up anyway,” Crowder said in his statement. “We’re transporting all of the equipment the Louder with Crowder misfits we could into one news van and are shipping cross-country to bring our free speech to Urbana.”
The cancellation of the show seems to have been broken down to miscommunication on the ends of the College Republicans at the university, who planned to sponsor the event, the university and its security team, and Crowder.
“So whether you attribute it to miscommunication, incompetence, or ideologically motivated, the fans and students are the ones who end up getting screwed. And that just plain sucks,” Crowder said.”
