Organisers of Perth Fringe Festival have described the use of a racial slur against stand-up comedian Joe White on Friday night as "deplorable".
Mr White told ABC Radio Perth's Nadia Mitsopoulos he was forced to de-escalate a tense situation at his show, where he was heckled and racially abused by an audience member.
"He kept putting his hands up and then I said, 'What seems to be the problem, is there something you want to tell me?'. Then he said the N word at me," he said.
The multi award-winning performer said 70 people attended the intimate comedy gig and heard the offensive slur from a man in the crowd.
"I'm engaging and interacting with the crowd, I'm doing jokes, it's going great," Mr White said.
But he "froze" on stage when he heard the slur.
In that moment, he said he was assessing what to do next, as he feared the man's behaviour suggested he could become aggressive or unpredictable.
"My mind is racing a million miles an hour," he said.
"How do I handle this in a way so there is an outcome that I want? The last thing I want is for there to be violence at my show."
'Everybody's gasping for air'
Mr White said it was the first time he had been racially harassed while performing after a decade on the comedy circuit, including multiple Fringe Festival shows.
"It's a very intimate show, everybody heard it, and I'm looking around and everybody's gasping for air," Mr White said.
"I'm thinking of the [safety of] the ushers. I'm thinking of my tech, I'm thinking of my audience."
Mr White said he managed to de-escalate the situation by engaging with the man during the performance, while making it clear the man's comments were unacceptable.
He said he was trying to avoid any confrontation or conflict between the man and other audience members.
"I had to do that because I have to convey a message of discomfort and disapproval from what he just said," he said.
"If the audience gets involved, what happens is the emotions run high, and if the emotions run high, you never know how he's going to react."
Mr White said he was appreciative of the way the audience handled the situation, by allowing him to de-escalate the situation himself.
He said the Fringe management team had been supportive and called him right away to make sure he was OK.
Sharon Burgess, the chief executive of festival organiser Artrage, said the company had a zero-tolerance policy toward racism.
She praised Mr White's handling of the incident.
"We feel a great deal of respect and gratitude for the incredible humility and integrity shown by Joe in the face of such behaviour," she said.
Staff were monitoring the situation
Ms Burgess said staff were trained to respond to racist heckling and worked to create a safe and inclusive environment for artists.
"There are protocols in place, they (staff) were monitoring the situation and had it at any time escalated we would have stepped in," she said.
"It's always better to allow the comedians to handle the room and the audience in the best way that they feel."
She said if a performer wanted a patron evicted from a venue, staff would act on it.
Mr White said he spoke to the man outside the venue after the show ended.
"I went straight up to him, but as soon as he saw me, he was clapping. He was telling me, 'You're amazing,'" he said.
"I said, 'You killed the show, by using a word that was used to make black people feel inferior and sub-human, I'm just there trying to make you happy.'
"I had to work twice as hard to try and save the show.
"He was apologetic and receptive to me telling him that it wasn't OK. And what he did really impacted a lot of people."
