A standup comedy set in Madrid, Spain devolved into mayhem on Monday evening when the comedian performing was rushed by an angry father in the audience, who punched him right in the face in front of the shocked room. However, it wasn't a random attack, as the pair had traded barbs on social media prior to the incident.
It all started over the weekend when the enraged father, identified as right-wing activist and musician Alberto Pugilato, posted a photo of his three-month-old son on X, formerly Twitter, which he captioned "happy and blessed." It didn't take long for trolls to hijack the post, including comedian Jaime Caravaca, who inexplicably responded: "Nothing and no one can prevent the possibility that he is gay and when he grows up he gets tired of sucking black c--k."
It didn't take long for Pugilato to fire back. "I assure you that you are going to apologize for what you said about my three-month-old son and you will discover that real life is not Twitter," he wrote.
After Caravaca deleted his tweet, Pugilato doubled down on his threat by posting a screenshot. "He deleted the tweet, but I captured it," he added. "I'll print it and take it to a [standup show] so we can laugh in person."
Ha borrado el tweet, pero hice captura, la imprimiré y se la llevaré a un monólogo para que nos riamos en persona. https://t.co/JwWfKRVo6Y pic.twitter.com/nvfNLiayh4
— Alberto Pugilato (@Albertopugilat) June 1, 2024
And sure enough, during Caravaca's set on Monday, Pugilato made good on his promise.
In video footage taken by an audience member, he could be seen storming onto the stage and landing a blow right to the comic's face. Pugilato then demanded that Caravaca say the joke to his face and called him trash. After cornering the terrified comedian and apologizing, telling the crowd that he was simply defending his child, Pugilato got in one last smack before walking offstage.
@Albertopugilat UN HOMBRE CON VALORES, UN PADRE EN DEFENSA DE LA DIGNIDAD DE SU HIJO CONTRA UN HDLGP DEGENERADO.
— ✞ COTO MATAMOROS ✞ (@COTOMATAMOROS_1) June 4, 2024
HONOR A ALBERTO PUGILATO. pic.twitter.com/3oqGJ18gf5
Following the attack, Caravaca took to social media to apologize for his remarks that resulted in the fracas.
"After what happened, what was intended to be a joke was ultimately an unfortunate and not at all appropriate comment on my part," he wrote on X early Tuesday. "My apologies to anyone who feels affected. Let's put violence aside, and leave a good world for people to grow free."
And for his part, Pugilato accepted the apology, responding that he would "defend freedom of expression in the same way that [he defends his right] to respond."
It's unclear whether authorities will see things that way, and whether or not either of the men will see criminal charges leveraged against them. But for now, anyway, it seems as though cooler heads have prevailed.
