A Newport venue is set to welcome controversial media personality Katie Hopkins this month. The outspoken columnist and media commentator is set to appear at The Neon in Newport on July 28 as part of the Comecast live comedy tour.
Hopkins initially rose to prominence on the third series of BBC's The Apprentice in 2007 and has since achieved notoriety as a far-right commentator and outspoken media personality with inflammatory comments on race, migration and feminism.
The 48-year-old used to write for MailOnline and The Sun, the latter of which dubbed her "Britain's most controversial columnist." In 2020 Hopkins was permanently suspended from Twitter, where she had over a million followers, for violating its hateful conduct policy. A year later she was deported from Australia after boasting on Instagram that she planned to breach the country’s quarantine rules.
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It comes after Hopkins appeared at an event in Cinema & Co in Swansea earlier this year. The event prompted some locals to organise a two-day festival titled Wokefest as a "statement of unity and a celebration of the strength of diversity" in opposition.
Comcast Live on July 28 features Hopkins alongside comedians Andrew Lawrence, Alistair Williams and Abi Roberts. In 2021 Lawrence faced backlash after comments he made on Twitter referencing the skin colour of players involved in England's UEFA Euro 2020 penalty shoot-out. He later tweeted a derogatory follow-up and saw his shows cancelled in several venues after the incident.
The ticket page for the event, which costs £27, advertises Comcast as "outspoken, unadulterated, hilarious and frank free-speech" and adds: "Come join us to poke fun and laugh at the insanity of our times and what we know as the 2020’s! PS: not for the feint-hearted [sic]."
The Neon is located on Clarence Place and is a Grade II listed building that once hosted the Newport Odeon cinema. It later became a live music and entertainment theatre and hosts events like music and wrestling. In 2019 the venue attracted 1,000 people for a rally of the Brexit Party with figures including Nigel Farage, Ann Widdecombe, Nathan Gill appearing.
