Amy Schumer’s ‘Rookie Mistake’

Schumer originally planned on playing only one show at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland., Maine.  But ticket demand resulted in a second show planned for the same venue on the same evening.

However, to accommodate the audience for the night’s second performance, Schumer cut her first show short.  By some estimates her 7:30 p.m. performance ran only 35-40 minutes while the 10:30 p.m. gig was approximately one hour long.

Turns out fans who purchased tickets for the first show weren’t all that pleased when they learned Schumer’s second show ran a bit longer.

“Very disappointed that we went through the effort of pre sale for the original show, only to be ripped off because a second show was later added and they got the longer set,” wrote ticketholder Jason King on Facebook. “Amy Schumer was great, but someone dropped the ball due to greed. Wish I didn’t give any of my money to Cross Insurance Arena, and don’t anticipate doing so ever again.”

King wasn’t the only fan expressing displeasure regarding the shorter show. Others posted similar messages and many complained that the show’s ticket price was way too high for so little time spent on stage.  Schumer later tweeted that even she thought the first show ended early.

But cutting the first show short so the audience could exit the venue in time for the second show’s audience to find their seats probably isn’t the best way to go.

Schumer blamed the misstep on her current tour being the first time she has headlined arenas.

“That seemed short to me,” Schumer told NBC affiliate WCSH Channel 6, “So I said right before I went up to Bill, the guy who runs the show, it says 45 minutes, is that right?  And he said, ‘Yep, that’s it.’  This is my first experience, I didn’t have anybody with me to tell me any different, so I did what I was told to do.”

Schumer said “it felt very weird” for her to get off of the stage.  Then she looked at Twitter.

“People were like, ‘that’s it?” And I said ‘I knew it felt like that,’” Schumer said.

Schumer later called her agent, who told her she should have disregarded the stage manager’s instructions to close the first show early. 

“It was a rookie mistake, but I was following directions,” Schumer said, according to WCSH.  “I feel horrible about it, but I promise it wasn’t laziness, or that I didn’t respect the crowd I have to be out there, it was strictly a rookie mistake, and I’m sorry that they had to pay for it.”

Schumer wasn’t joking about her fans having to pay for it.  Cross Insurance Arena general manager Matthew Herpich told the Portland Press Herald that Schumer did “two full shows” and that no refunds would be given.