An alarming video has surfaced of comic Mike Epps carting a seemingly distressed and restrained kangaroo to the stage in one of his acts.
Epps may be most well recognized from his performances in the franchise movies “The Hangover”, but he also does stand-up comedy. A few days ago on the 31st of March, he astonished and outraged some of the people in the Detroit crowd by bringing a large sized kangaroo named Skippy up on stage with him, that appeared visibly nervous strapped and controlled. The moment didn’t last long as the Kangeroo had enough and fought back by punching Epps in the face.
The actor demonstrated minimal regret for his behavior as many individuals went on the internet to call the actor out for the questionable conduct.
The video clip reveals Epps kind of coercing the animal to participate in the on-stage activities, however, he bolts off when Skippy lands a punch to his head.
Unphased by the evidently troubled Kangeroo, the man handling the animal seemed to just go along with the show and is seen to be trying to amp up the audience while holding onto the harness.
Epps apparently seized the Kangeroo’s harness himself at one point and tried to take a photo with it.
The animal’s handler claims that Skippy is a member of an “exotic zoo” that travels around, and he said he possesses the sufficient legal permits needed to put on such a show.
Offended followers bombarded Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram soon after the footage of the event surfaced labeling it “animal cruelty” and completely unsuitable behavior.
One user posted,
“I didn’t think Mike Epps playing with that kangaroo last night was funny at all. That kangaroo looked miserable and ready to snap.”
Redditors from Reddit.com had been furious as well, with a few users saying that Epps’ performance was a “disgrace”.
After the enraged comments from supporters, Epps tried to stop the conversation over cruelty to animals.
Showing up with the Kangeroo’s handler, Epps uploaded a behind the scenes clip of himself giving a piece of fruit to another Kangeroo that had been on stage as well.
The caption on Epps’ video read,
“Yeah what’s the problem? Look how nice I am to him”
Many didn’t really accept this as an apology at all, stating it was merely a distraction from his unacceptable act.
A twitter user summed up that sentiment saying,
“Keep your bull**** apology and your weak attempt at damage control. You were on camera abusing an animal. You suck for that”
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