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Tosh Rape Joke Apology Aftermath: Club Owner Defends Comedian

"If you are a member of the audience and you start dishing out something to a comic and try to be funny, you better be able to take it," Jamie Masada tells us.

By Bruna Nessif, Holly Passalaqua Jul 11, 2012 2:25 AMTags
Daniel Tosh Picture Group/Comedy Central

Comedian Daniel Tosh apologized today after getting slammed for making a female audience member the subject to a rape joke last Friday, and while many seem to be shaking their heads at the Tosh.0 star, the Laugh Factory owner seems to be on his side.

"Comedians sometimes tell jokes and sometimes they can be off color. I think Daniel Tosh is one of the funniest comics alive. He is one of the most caring people I know. He had no intentions of hurting anyone," Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada tells E! News.

"I understand where she is coming from, but Daniel Tosh did not attack this young lady. I feel bad for her and I apologize to her. If you are a member of the audience and you start dishing out something to a comic and try to be funny, you better be able to take it," he said.

If you're wondering what the heck happened to cause all this controversy, don't worry, we'll explain.

On Friday, Tosh was performing his standup bit and proceeded to say that rape jokes are always funny. A female audience member disagreed with that statement and then things got a little ugly.

"After I called out to him, Tosh paused for a moment. Then, he says, 'Wouldn't it be funny if that girl got raped by like, 5 guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her…' and I, completely stunned and finding it hard to process what was happening but knowing I needed to get out of there, immediately nudged my friend, who was also completely stunned, and we high-tailed it out of there," the anonymous woman wrote on her Tumblr.

"It was humiliating, of course, especially as the audience guffawed in response to Tosh, their eyes following us as we made our way out of there. I didn't hear the rest of what he said about me."

Tosh then linked to the post and tweeted, "all the out of context misquotes aside, i'd like to sincerely apologize."

Masada told us that the woman complained to the manager and was offered a full refund, but chose to take two complimentary tickets to the club instead.

The offering was too little, too late for RAINN, which issued its own statement on the matter.

"When will this 'funny man' realize that rape jokes aren't funny?" spokeswoman Katherine Hull told E! News. "By suggesting that an audience member deserved to be gang raped, Tosh took his shtick to a new low. Applause is due to the woman who had the guts to vocalize what many in the room were thinking."