Comedian Katherine Ryan has revealed she was fired from a West End musical in London just weeks before the production opened in May.
The 43-year-old stand-up star said she had been offered a small part in the unnamed show involving eight performances a week, despite having recently given birth to her daughter Holland in October.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, Ryan explained that the role came with a specific condition before she could take to the stage.
"I was almost going to do theatre," Ryan told The Sun. "I was offered something recently with one caveat: that someone in America needed to hear me sing."
"I was really excited, but I shouldn't have said yes because it was eight shows a week when I had a newborn. Luckily, someone in America did hear my voice and they said no, and I got fired before it began."
The Sun noted that Beetlejuice at the Prince Edward Theatre was the only show fitting Ryan's description, as she specified it was a musical currently running in London's West End that opened in May.
West End debut and upcoming tour
While Ryan maintains an extensive touring repertoire of stand-up shows, she has yet to perform in a theatrical stage production, making the sudden axing particularly disheartening.
Ryan, a Canadian-born comedian and television presenter based in the United Kingdom, will return to the stage in October with a book tour for her title Firstborn Daughter: Having It All and Doing It Anyway. The tour includes scheduled dates at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End and the Brighton Dome in East Sussex.
Family life and podcast comments
The revelation about her theatre role follows recent controversy surrounding comments Ryan made about her family dynamic, in which she admitted that she has a favourite child.
Ryan is a mother of four children. She has a 17-year-old daughter, Violet, from a previous relationship, as well as three younger children: Fred, three, Fenna, two, and newborn Holland, with her childhood sweetheart Bobby Koostra, whom she married in 2019.
Appearing on the Begin Again podcast hosted by British television presenter Davina McCall, Ryan surprised listeners by admitting she favours Violet over her three younger siblings.
Controversy over nepobabies comment
When asked why she felt that way, Ryan explained that she considers her younger children to be nepobabies because they have grown up with privileges stemming from her career success, including private education, which Violet did not receive.
Ryan also cited the absence of Violet's father, a topic she has frequently addressed on her own podcast Telling Everybody Everything and in her stand-up comedy specials, as a key factor.
"Violet's my favourite, she's my first born. I think people don't like that, they think it's a provocative thing to say," Ryan told McCall on the podcast.
"I don't worry about it hurting the other kids' feelings because I go, guess what, those are nepobabies, Violet is my favourite. You get to go to private school, you get to grow up with a dad, that's not fair, she's my favourite," Ryan added.
"I mean that makes sense in a way doesn't it, they have privileges she doesn't," she said.
Listener reaction and online backlash
Her remarks sparked significant backlash from podcast listeners on Facebook, with several users expressing concern over the emotional impact on her children.
One Facebook user commented: "Seriously - or maybe she's joking (as I understand she is in comedy)... but if serious - Good luck when they grow up... Telling one of your children is your favourite has long lasting effects on the others... The others will feel they are not good enough which will feed into their future relationships. The favourite one will have more confidence but may experience a level of guilt. Words can cut sharper than knives. (I'm still hopeful she's just joking)."
Another listener wrote: "I felt really sad listening to this. Nepo babies can still be deeply hurt and damaged irreparably by their Mothers."
A third commenter added: "Mm as a mother I do not like that at all, even if it's true. Stuff like this can be really emotionally damaging and as their mum it's up to you to protect them not to just say 'life isn't fair'... You absolutely should worry about hurting your child's feelings, mine didn't worry either and now I don't talk to him at all."
