A breastfeeding mother who was booted from a comedy show because her baby was distracting the audience appeared on The Project to discuss her 'humiliating' experience - only to be asked by Sarah Harris to take the crying infant off screen.
Melbourne mother-of-three Trish Faranda and her seven-month-old baby, Clara, were kicked out of Arj Barker's show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival on Saturday night, sparking fierce debate about the American comic's actions.
Ms Faranda told The Project on Monday that she had 'no idea things would turn out this way'.
Moments later, little Clara began to cry, prompting Ms Faranda to breastfeed her during the live interview.
Melbourne mother of three Trish Faranda and her seven-month-old baby, Clara (pictured together), were asked to leave Arj Barker's show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival on Saturday night
Following Ms Faranda's interviews, some began siding with comedian Arj Barker (pictured)
As the little one's tears continued, Harris asked: 'Maybe she can go to dad for a quick second?'
Ms Faranda went on to say that she'd already planned to leave the comedy show she'd booked a month in advance if Clara started crying, but didn't appreciate the way Barker handled the situation.
'I thought it would be really nice to do something I hadn't done in a while and get back to a pre-baby me,' she said.
'He could've off-mic said, "It's really disrupting me, do you mind?" and I would've happily packed up and gone.
'Then he asked for support from the crowd, basically to say I should leave and they heckled a bit when we were leaving.'
Barker, who was just 15 minutes into his set when the drama unfolded, said in a statement that the show is strictly age 15 plus and is clearly stated on the ticket site.
'On behalf of the other 700 people who paid to see the gig, I politely told her the baby couldn't stay,' he earlier explained.
'She thought I was kidding, which made the exchange a bit awkward.
'I felt bad about the whole situation and stated this on the night more than once. I offered her a refund.
'Theatre staff should not have seated a baby in my audience in the first place.'
After Clara began crying during an interview, The Project panelist Sarah Harris (pictured) asked for her to be handed to her dad
Ms Faranda also appeared on A Current Affair on Monday, where she said Clara was no louder than a person coughing.
'She started gurgling, babbling... but not for very long, because then I just gave her a quick feed, and she was quiet.
'I was vigilant, I was looking around, people weren't looking at us so I thought "OK, we're not really impacting anyone that I can tell".'
While Australians initially labelled Barker's dismissal of the mother as 'disgusting', her interviews on Monday may have turned public opinion in his favour.
Some viewers said they found it hard to hear what Ms Faranda or A Current Affair host Allison Langdon were saying.
On the show's Facebook page, one person said: 'She couldn't even get through this five minute interview properly because her baby was playing up the whole time.
'I have kids and there is always a time a place for little children. This mother is so entitled it's unbelievable.'
'The baby's performance on A Current Affair says it all,' another wrote.
Barker performed his new show Mind Field at Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre from March 28 to April 21
'This interview was an absolute train wreck. Ally ended it as soon as she could because that kid was uncontrollable. Imagine that at a comedy show. A few times I turned the volume down,' a third person said.
Some The Project viewers were equally unimpressed.
'Wait, so woman gets asked to leave a comedy show due to her baby crying, woman then goes on TV to complain and baby has to leave interview due to crying!,' one person wrote online.
'The interview just proved a point,' another said.
A third added: 'I understand the feeling of losing your sense of self when you have a baby but you don't get that back by taking your baby to everything.'
However, other commenters remained supportive of Ms Faranda.
'If Arj finds a gurgling baby too distracting he's not as talented as I thought he was. How does he handle hecklers and drunks?,' one said.
A spokesman for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival said: 'Arj is independently produced and at a venue not managed by the Festival, however, any interaction between performers and their audiences requires sensitivity and respect.
'In our festival managed venues, babes in arms are generally allowed but we do ask people to sit up the back with their child so they can quickly and easily leave if the baby gets noisy so as not to disturb the artist and other patrons.'
