Ben Bankas won’t be performing at the Laugh Camp Comedy Club after all.

Comedian’s 6 sold-out shows canceled after video of him mocking Renee Good went viral

Ben Bankas won't be performing at the Laugh Camp Comedy Club after all.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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January 30, 2026 6:22 p.m. ET

Comedian Ben Bankas' performances were canceled. Credit:

Minneapolis could especially use some laughs about now.

However, Laugh Camp Comedy Club in its "Twin City" of St. Paul, Minn., has called off six scheduled performances — all of which had already sold out — of comedian Ben Bankas, after footage went viral of him making jokes about the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent Jan. 7.

Protests have roiled the city since the deaths of Good and Alex Pretti, who died after being shot by agents on Jan. 24.

In the wake of the unrest, owner Bill Collins told the *Minnesota Star Tribune *that he had decided the shows would *not *go on after seeing the footage from other Bankas performances.

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"Honestly, I don't see any way we can safely present this show in the current climate,” Collins told the newspaper. "I'm not sure any amount of security or preplanning would mitigate the liability I'd face if something happened."

Bankas' official website lists the dates for the shows, one at 8 p.m. and one at 10:15 p.m., as Jan. 30-31 and Feb. 1.

Candles, flowers, and signs are placed at a makeshift memorial honoring Renee Good.

Kerem YUCEL / AFP via Getty

Collins told the* Star Tribune* that his decision would cost him upwards of $17,000, but he thought it was worth it.

"The risks to our community, staff and guests are too great," he said.

** has reached out to Bankas for comment.

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NBC News reported that he said things including, "Her last name was Good. That's what I said after they shot her."

But on Thursday, he shared footage of himself telling a crowd that his shows had been canceled in which he said "f--- 'em" about the decision. They booed the news.

Per Bankas' website, he's a Toronto-born comic who now lives in Austin. His credits include hosting YouTube's *The Tanakas Show*, which "reaches more than 10,000 monthly listeners" and has been featured on InfoWars, Fox News, and the CBC. He's scheduled to next perform sold-out shows at Yuk Yuk's clubs in Ottawa (Feb. 2) and Toronto (Feb. 4).

A previous Bankas show, which had been set for March, was canceled in December, with the Sault Community Theatre Centre in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, saying that his comedy did not fit with their "stated values of respect, inclusion and cultural diversity."**

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