Truemors
is reporting from
Member
NP Rank:
NP Rank:
Blue Man Group Sued over Camera Stunt
Share: 
by Jordan Yerman | January 24, 2008 at 09:49 am
1303 views | 10 Recommendations | 4 comments
Photos
Apparently the Blue Man Group has moved on from percussion... maybe that's not a good thing.
TMZ has obtained a lawsuit in which James Srodon claims while he attended a 2006 show, he was "forcibly restrained" in his seat while the blue men shoved an "esophagus cam" into his mouth. According to the suit, the esophagus cam is routinely dragged on the floor during the show, which could contaminate it with food and liquid. James claims he now suffers from nightmares.Srodon is seeking over $50,000 in damages.
In the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Srodon says the Blue Man actors used the "esophagus cam" to project an image of Srodon's mouth and throat onto a large screen for the audience's amusement.
The lawsuit alleges the Blue Man actors circled him, held his neck and arms and "forced his head back" to insert the camera. It claims he was restrained from removing the camera from his mouth.
"At the time the 'esophagus cam' was inserted into plaintiff's mouth, it was covered in food, liquid and grime from the Briar Street Theatre floor, including the thick blue paint used to cover the actors' faces," the lawsuit said.
Named as defendants in the suit are Blue Man Productions Inc., theater owner Fox Theatricals and related companies. Blue Man and Fox officials could not be reached for comment.
What is NowPublic?
NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.
Crowd Power
jurvetson
Los Altos, California, United States
atravelfanatic
St Louis, Missouri, United States
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (4)
at 10:56 on January 24th, 2008
Unfortunately, after 'Arrested Development', any reference to the Blue Man Group makes me think only of Dr. Tobias Fünke covered in thick blue paint. I'm still recovering from the hilarity.
at 00:42 on January 25th, 2008
I've already made comments about this story on a couple other news sites, so I'm already a bit worked up over it. I'm angry at the obvious quick buck this guy is trying to make.
There are many things about what he claims that point to him just trying to get some money out of nothing, but I guess the most obvious thing that shows his motifs is the fact that the camera never makes contact with the audience member. It does not go into to his mouth, nor his throat/esophugus. The camera slowly approaches the person's face and immediately the onscreen video changes to a pre-recorded segment of a camera going inside someone's body. There is no way the man suffered injuries to his mouth, throat, or dental work. It's because of this, it's hard to trust anything else he claims.
Sure, it may be believable that a single Blue Man actor had a rare moment of misjudgment, perhaps touching his head with too much force. But because of the thing I mentioned, which is just too outrageous, you can't trust anything else he's saying.
Also, the camera never does touch the floor. If you want my credentials about the things I'm saying... I have seen 16 Blue Man shows: nine in Las Vegas, once in Chicago, twice on the Complex Rock Tour, and four times on the current "Megastar" Tour. All of these shows contain the throat cam skit. I have personally met many Blue Man crew members and many of the actors out of the blue make up. They are not trying to kill you.
at 09:38 on January 27th, 2008
PHOTO: The Sharp Aquos Theatre at Universal Studios - Orlando.
atravelfanatic has contributed a photo to this story.
at 10:12 on April 5th, 2009
I know Mr Srodon. He is a well respected member of the West Los Angeles community, and originally from Chicago. He was taking his grand child to see what he expected to be a children's show. He is over retirement age. It was at the least, the stupidest choice of the Blue Man Group members to choose him for the stunt, when there were thousands of younger parents to choose from. The BMG members terrified him, and his grandson. I saw with my own eyes the bruising he recieved. The medical doctors he consulted with are top physicians who themselves detected abrasions in his throat. Krillinish should try thinking about what he would want from a children's show when he is 65, it was demeaning. In my speaking with Mr. Srodon, his concern was over the sanitary conditions and reprocussions of the act. BMG just shrugged off his attempts at reconciling and adding parameters to deter such an incident in the future. I'm sure their thinking was just as blase as Krillinish's.