Fans that attended a recent Pete Davidson comedy show in the Bay Area had to sign a non-disclose agreement (NDA) — enforced by a fine of $1 million.
People in attendance at Davidson’s shows are also required to put their phones and smartwatches into secure pouches.
Stacy Young, who attended the 26-year-old comedian’s show at the Sydney Goldstein Theater in San Franciso, shared a screenshot of the NDA she received in an email ahead of the show.
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“I got an email today informing me that in order to see this show I have to sign a non disclosure agreement. In that NDA the signer CANNOT GIVE ANY INTERVIEWS, OPINIONS OR CRITIQUES about it in ANY form whatsoever including blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or any other social networking,” Young wrote on Facebook in the event group for Davidson’s show on Nov. 27.
Her post continued: “It also authorizes them to confiscate (including seize & destroy the contents of) any cell phones, cameras or PDAs and that ANY BREACH of the agreement will REQUIRE PAYMENT OF $1 MILLION in damages as well as the legal costs.”
Young went to say that she “understood and was willing to consent to the initial request of locking up any phones or cameras brought to the event.”
“I think this a bit ridiculous and over the top,” she wrote. “I get that comedians are protective of their jokes and don’t want their routines rebroadcast, but it’s rather Orwellian to not allow anyone to share an opinion on it.”
“Don’t perform for the public if you don’t want people to have an opinion about it!” Young concluded the post, attaching the NDA in a screengrab.
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The screengrabs of the NDA note that “Individual agrees that in the event of breach of this Agreement, Individual shall pay Company, upon demand, as liquidated damages, the sum of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000), plus any actual out-of-pocket expense, as well as any attorney fees expended in enforcing this Agreement.”
People in attendance at Davidson’s shows must provide their cell phone numbers and email addresses, as well as Instagram and Twitter handles.
Young did not sign the NDA and she told Variety that she was given a full refund by the Sydney Goldstein Theater.
“I didn’t want to sign it because it was basically saying that I wasn’t able to comment on it or have an opinion,” Young told the outlet. “The most you could say is ‘no comment.'”
An employee from the Sydney Goldstein Theater told the San Francisco Chronicle that the venue had only learned about Davidson’s NDA one day before the show.
Some fans of the Saturday Night Live star said they couldn’t comment on his show because of the NDA.
Davidson’s next show is set for Dec. 9 in Hollywood, Florida.
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