The family claims an autistic man and his aide were asked to stop performing at the Argyle Theater because they laughed too loudly.
The family of 27-year-old Joey La Monica says he and his aide didn’t feel welcome to guests during a performance of “Beauty and the Beast” at the Babylon Theater.
According to Joey Lamonica’s aide Jennifer Nadeau, the two were contacted by their manager during Wednesday afternoon’s performance and asked to leave due to complaints about an autistic man’s “explosions.”
“I said, ‘What you are doing is wrong,'” Nadeau said. “You can’t kick him out for laughing. He was laughing. He was having a good time.”
Joey’s mother, Virginia Lamonica, was not there, but said she had spoken to her manager about the incident.
“This is a lifetime thing. We know the reaction. We know the stare. We know if there’s an explosion, we know when to leave,” Virginia said.
According to the Argyle Theatre’s Facebook page, the duo were offered a space in the lounge with TV monitors showing the performance. They used the space but then decided to move out, according to social media posts.
According to Nadeau, they were placed in a lounge space where they had to listen to private conversations of employees on sofas in front of memorabilia tables.
The theater told News 12, citing a statement on social media that said the two were never asked to leave the performance and numerous attempts were made to accommodate them.
The statement also said they interviewed witnesses and audio-video recordings and determined the situation was handled appropriately. said.
