A cruise ship magician has criticized the company he works for after he suffered an attack on stage. He says a man jumped him for getting too close to his female partner. This is despite the fact the magician is gay and mentions it in his act.
Ben Murphy is an experienced entertainer. He was performing on the Royal Caribbean’s Quantum of the Seas cruise when the incident happened. He’d asked a woman from the audience up onto the stage to take part in a trick.
As part of the routine, they both hold cards between their lips. They then lean in close to touch the cards. It was at this point that the woman’s male companion—it’s not known if they’re married or not—jumped on stage and knocked Murphy over.
You can watch it below.
@thebenmurphy_ My assault onboard. Entertainment, comedy, and magic are NOT contact sports. This guest should not have been allowed to enjoy the rest of his cruise. #assault #magician #magic #comedianattacked #violence #cruiseship #cruise #magic #comedian #comedy #domesticviolence #insecure #toxicmasculinity #justice ♬ original sound – The Ben Murphy
“So violent and so unnecessary”
Murphy spoke to the Australian news show, A Current Affair, yesterday about what happened. He said the assault had left him with a bruised arm and he still experienced some psychological trauma over it.
The reaction of the cruise operator also left him unimpressed. He suggests it’s not done enough to rectify the situation. He says he complained straight away to staff backstage. However, the male passenger was allowed to enjoy the rest of the cruise.
“I just remember this really angry-looking face just dive out of the audience and jump on top of me,” Murphy recalled. “My legs got slammed against the back of the stage and then I fell backwards and this angry face was just on top of me.”
“It’s just so sudden and so violent and so unnecessary. It’s a comedy magic show with a guy in a sequined jacket who’s just openly talked about being gay.”
The man involved departed the theatre to a chorus of boos. His female companion looked visibly upset at him jumping on stage.
Murphy says the cruise operator said it took no action as there were no witnesses. The magician says this is a lame excuse.
“I found this really bizarre that there’s no witnesses,” Murphy said.
“How I can be sat on stage and attacked in the middle of a show and there be no witnesses. It is just, it’s rubbish, it’s offensive. It’s negligent.”
On leaving the ship, Murphy reported what happened to Queensland Police.
Royal Caribbean says it’s investigating
Royal Caribbean issued a statement yesterday saying: “At Royal Caribbean International the safety of our crew and guests is our number one priority.”
“We are aware of the incident that took place aboard Quantum of the Seas. Our investigation into this incident is ongoing and as such, we are unable to provide further comment.”
Video of the footage, captured by several passengers, quickly went viral online.
cuteguy
The cruise operator gave the standard corporate response but it was obviously only empty words. What a double standard, if the victim was female, the passenger would’ve never been able to enjoy the rest of the cruise and most likely be arrested. I didn’t realize #metoo was only for females. This is a classic case of homophobia and Royal Caribbean are hiding behind “ongoing investigation” nonsense instead of apologizing to one of their own. It’s simply bc he’s a gay man that he’s allowed to be hated and attacked with absolutely no consequences
johncp56
it is there on video, he did not touch the lady the guy knocked him down hard wow, i would like to know more, cuteguy yes I wounder how it would have went down if he knocked a lady down,
Jim
Royal Caribbean should be more concerned about the safety of their employees
I won’t be sailing on them in the foreseeable future
nm4047
I’m assuming that a cruise wasn’t on the table to start with, so I don’t think it’s going to make news with the cruise industry.
bachy
Looks like Will Smith bizarrely attacking Chris Rock at the Oscars has changed the protocol of audience and performer.
Godabed
corporations don’t care about people. That man should have been arrested. If they have marshals for the air, why don’t they have marshals for the cruise ships?
heath0043
Normally on cruise ships when something like this happens the person is confined to their cabin and kicked off at the next port. Royal really screwed up and showed they don’t protect their employees or the other cruisers. What if another passenger accidently bumped in to her while dancing or whatever. He has already proved he’s a jealous A Hole.
Rambeaux
Unfortunately for the magician, this will be a matter for Maritime Law to deal with, not Australian Law.
I think that he has his answer already.
He was hung out to dry. It was a cozy deal between the Captain and Royal Caribbean.
He could possibly civilly sue the guy.
phillycap
Not quite accurate. We’re they in international waters maybe. But they were in Australian waters so they come under the criminal purview of Australia. The civil lawsuit? Well most cruise ships as part of contracts will force the matter to be dealt with via arbitration often with any result remaining confidential.
Man About Town
“…safety is our top priority” blah blah blah. That’s exactly what school administrators say about kids who are bullied, threatened, assaulted, and then they don’t do a damn thing about it. Pathetic.
Troyfight
It’s assault, pure and simple. Boat operators should ban this attacker at the least.
heath0043
I agree. He should be banned by all cruise companies.
abfab
He should have been made to walk the plank, eaten by sharks and then, well, that works.
Brian
“the safety of our crew and guests is our number one priority”
Public relations specialists are some of the most disgusting, worthless people in our society. They just copy and paste language they’ve seen before. There is zero sincerity. Whoever wrote that statement should be fired. And the rest of them should find other careers. They’re all just pure garbage.
Man About Town
Je suis d’accord!
nm4047
looks like a story that should have been left to the tabloid TV shows. Other than the empty words of ’employee’ safety concerns, if the poor smartphone footage wasn’t available it wouldn’t even rate a mention, anywhere.
DarkZephyr
You aren’t a pleasant or likeable person, are you?
GREATGLORYHOLER
I am Guessing that The Guy works for the Cruise Line and that is why it is being brushed off. Otherwise his ass would have Confined to His Cabin and then Kicked Off at the next port or Police Copter or Boat would meet the ship and pick the Guy Up. The Cruise Line NEEDS TO DO BETTER NOW!!!!