UConn Cancels Conservative Comedian at Very Last Minute

Stand-up comic K-von tells jokes clean enough for Dry Bar Comedy.

That platform serves up PG-rated laughs, the kind the Persian-American delivers on stage and via his YouTube channel.

The University of Connecticut still had second thoughts about hosting K-von this week. A person responsible for his stand-up appearance, coordinated by the conservative Turning Point USA, canceled the March 11 gig. The comic learned of the cancellation less than three hours before show time, he says.

He had flown from Florida to Connecticut for the appearance. Why couldn’t the show go on?

K-von said the campus administrator initially told his team she had read some of the comic’s social media posts and decided he wasn’t appropriate for the university. The comedian is a conservative, though hardly of the fire-breathing variety.

Later, in what he dubbed a “tense” 30-minute phone exchange, he claims she pivoted to blame the cancellation on safety concerns. 

The unnamed university employee also pinned the cancellation on a faulty “contract,” according to a video K-von posted from part of their conversation. She blamed the university students who had written the contract for its flaws.

She sounded unaware that the comedian previously performed at the university in 2017.

K-von noted later that the cancellations we see across western culture today have roots in academia.

“Bad ideas that start at the college level don’t just stay there. Within a few short years they spill out into every major industry and facet of American life,” K-von said in a statement shared with HiT.

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None of this is new for K-von.

Last year, he required a security division to safely leave campus after performing his stand-up material at the University of Albany. Protesters still greeted his arrival, but the show was allowed to go on.

That’s not the case for other performers of late.

Matisyahu, a Jewish rapper, has seen at least three of his gigs canceled in 2024. Four comedians had their gigs canceled at a Seattle comedy club after local activists pressured the club booker to rescind the invitations.

It’s the new normal.

K-von’s cancellation attempt proved only partially acceptable. A Catholic Church across from the university allowed the comedian to perform his material as planned.

“And while the confusion eroded our attendance, we once again had a safe and enjoyable comedy show with no issues,” he said.

The comedian noted that UConn scored poorly on a free speech report compiled by The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). The group noted that UConn came in 220 out of 248 colleges and universities when it comes to free speech.