Female comic dropped from bill because there were already 'too many women'

A female comedian named Jenny Collier has revealed she was recently dropped from a stand-up bill at a club in Haslemere, Surrey, U.K. because there were already “too many women” on the bill. Aaaaaaand happy International Women’s Day, everyone.

Yesterday evening, Collier tweeted a screenshot of the e-mail she received from the venue’s proprietors booting her from the May 15 event:

This just happened. pic.twitter.com/Ap0IamzdR7

— Jenny Collier (@Jenjencollier) March 7, 2014

Predictably, Twitter went bananas:

FUCKING HELL! RT @Jenjencollier: This just happened. pic.twitter.com/BQCCV01jtM

— Naomi Cooper (@naomicooper) March 7, 2014

Utter absurdity. Lady friends, u know what to do: RT the fuck out of this. RT @Jenjencollier: This just happened. pic.twitter.com/E94cRP02Mj

— Deb Copaken Kogan (@dckogan) March 8, 2014

@allisonkilkenny@Jenjencollier Men uncomfortable with period stuffs

— Katharine Heller (@spkheller) March 7, 2014

Unless the venue is a men's bathroom, this is a truly stupid situation. RT @jenjencollier: This just happened. pic.twitter.com/B5uIu9cHwP

— Kayne (@MJCKayne) March 7, 2014

Since yesterday morning, Collier’s tweet has been retweeted more than 4,000 times by women all over the world, yet the identity of the anonymous stand-up club proprietor remains a mystery. U.K. blogger Red Mister did a little sleuthing, however, and determined that the only Haslemere club hosting an event on May 15 is Hemingways of Haslemere. Hemingways is owned by the comedy chain Mirth Control, which books more than 100 venues in Britain and Europe.

We’ve reached out to Mirth Control and Collier, and will update if we receive a response.

Update: Mirth Control, the comedy chain that owns Hemingway's has issued a statement on their website apologizing to Collier: "We would like to make it clear that Mirth Control was in no way responsible for, nor does it endorse the decision made by the venue." Mirth Control owner Geoff Whiting also told Buzzfeed that Mirth was ending their relationship with Hemingways, the club that sent Collier the e-mail, following the incident. 

Photo via Jenny Collier Comedy