23 January 2023 , 21:28
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Hundreds of people were evacuated from a venue in Leeds during a Paul Chowdhry gig after reports of a suspected gas leak.
The fire alarm went off at around 8:30pm this evening during a gig at the Leeds City Varieties venue.
Chowdhry joked on Twitter that the gig was shut down due to "cancel culture."
He said: "Absolutely gutted to announce my show was cancelled after the first half in Leeds. Cancel culture has gone too far."
The show was cancelled and people were led away from the building towards the nearby Briggate area, Leeds Live reports.
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An eyewitness said people were being warned not to go near the building and that a smell of gas was coming from the venue's cellar.
The gig had already been rescheduled (Getty Images Europe)Chowdhry added: "So gutted for my Leeds @CityVarieties audience that my show was cancelled after the first half. Cancel culture has gone too far. I'll be back, the matrix can't stop us."
The same show has already been rescheduled twice before and was meant to occur in mid-April last year.
In a video, the London funnyman said: "So I'm here at Leeds City Varieties for my third rescheduled date. Finally made it here... did the first half, show was banging, people were laughing.
Chowdhury joked the show was shut down because of cancel culture (Samuel Port)"I come off stage, I get cancelled... Let me finish the show, let me do the two and a half hours. I get cancelled after the first half [because] my material is too controversial for these peo... oh no, there was a gas leak.
"It was nothing to do with the material."
Mo, who was at the show, said to Leeds Live: "It's frustrating. I don't want to be too negative about it. It is what it is. Anticipating the next show."
Some punters were annoyed by the situation (Samuel Port)Punters were seen gathered outside saying the situation was "ridiculous," according to local reports.
Chowdhry, 48, is a well-known part of the UK comedy scene and has been seen on shows like 8 out of 10 Cats and the Russel Howard Hour.
Chowdhry has previously sold out the 10,000-seater Wembley Arena and is currently on his 'Family-Friendly Comedian' tour.
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