{{Short description|Comedy club chain}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2011}}
'''The Stress Factory''' is a stand-up comedy club chain owned by comedian Vinnie Brand. The clubs are in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Bridgeport, Connecticut,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/pete-davidson-stress-factory-comedy-club-owner-vinnie-brand|title = Pete Davidson slams comedy club, owner Vinnie Brand fires back|website = Fox News|date = April 30, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Bridgeport-s-comedy-club-has-so-far-survived-15655747.php|title = Bridgeport's comedy club has so far survived COVID. But now it seeks 'to thrive.'|date = October 18, 2020}}</ref> and Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.<ref>https://valleyforge.stressfactory.com/</ref>
== Incidents ==
===Greg Giraldo's final performance=== On September 24, 2010, Greg Giraldo performed his last comedy stand-up routine at the New Brunswick club, and was scheduled to perform the following Saturday and Sunday as well.<ref>{{cite web |author=Amanda Bolden-Weaver |url=http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/comedian-greg-giraldo-stabilized-after-drug-overdose-09-28-2010 |title=Comedian Greg Giraldo Stabilized after Drug Overdose |publisher=TheCelebrityCafe.com |date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001104008/http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/comedian-greg-giraldo-stabilized-after-drug-overdose-09-28-2010 |archive-date=October 1, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref>http://www.stressfactory.com/greg-giraldo-randy-quaid-contest {{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6875018-comedian-greg-giraldo-critical-after-drug-overdose |title=Comedian Greg Giraldo critical after drug overdose |publisher=Allvoices.com |date=September 28, 2010 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313122714/http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6875018-comedian-greg-giraldo-critical-after-drug-overdose |archive-date=March 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> However, the next day, Giraldo overdosed on prescription pills in his New Jersey hotel room, and then was replaced by Kevin Brennan<ref>{{cite web | url=https://thecomicscomic.com/2010/09/26/greg-giraldo-in-critical-care-unit-of-nj-hospital/ | title=Greg Giraldo in critical care unit of N.J. Hospital – the Comic's Comic }}</ref> for all the other shows. Giraldo eventually died on September 29, 2010, as a result of the overdose. Although there are over 700 videos of recorded past events and shows from the Stress Factory on YouTube,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=stress+factory&aq=f |title=stress factory |publisher=YouTube |access-date=October 20, 2011}}</ref> the Stress Factory had removed any footage of Greg Giraldo's previous shows that happened before the incident.<ref name="youtube1">{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4762vee8ow |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211220/T4762vee8ow |archive-date=2021-12-20 |url-status=live|title=The Stress Factory Removed The Greg Giraldo Videos! |publisher=YouTube |date=September 27, 2010 |access-date=October 20, 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MElF6w67pM |title=YouTube |website=www.youtube.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419013136/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MElF6w67pM |archive-date=19 April 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> On October 3, 2010, TMZ.com posted a video on their web site of his final performance at the Stress Factory.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tmz.com/2010/10/01/comedian-greg-giraldo-final-performance-video/ |title=Greg Giraldo – The Final Performance |publisher=TMZ.com |date=October 3, 2010 |access-date=October 20, 2011}}</ref>
===Pete Davidson walkout=== On April 29, 2019, Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson walked out of a scheduled performance for the Bridgeport club after Davidson claimed the owner, Vinnie Brand, "disrespected" him for mentioning Ariana Grande and Kate Beckinsale on stage before his scheduled time slot. However, Brand claimed that he was only accommodating what Davidson's security guard told him to do by telling the audience to not call out those names while Davidson would have been on stage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/stephenlaconte/pete-davidson-walk-out-comedy-show-ariana-grande-kate|title=Pete Davidson Walked Out of a Comedy Show After Someone Mentioned His Exes and It's a Whole Mess|website=BuzzFeed}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.tmz.com/2019/04/30/pete-davidson-leaves-standup-gig-kate-beckinsale-ariana-grande/| title = Pete Davidson Bails on Gig Over Kate and Ariana Mention, Crowd Turns on Him}}</ref>
===Technical difficulties during Eddie Griffin performance=== On August 30, 2019, comedian Eddie Griffin was scheduled to perform at the New Brunswick location. However, as Griffin took the stage, the club's circuit breaker went down causing the lighting and microphones to not work during his set. Griffin became so frustrated with the technical malfunctions that he accused the owner, Vinnie Brand, and the venue's management of racism. Brand reportedly dismissed those claims.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.tmz.com/2019/08/31/eddie-griffin-bad-lighting-rant-stress-factory-comedy-club/| title = Eddie Griffin Rips Comedy Club Over Poor Lighting for Black People}}</ref> Griffin was also scheduled to perform the following night, August 31, 2019, but cancelled the performances due to the technical difficulties even though Brand stated the circuit breaker would be fixed in time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pagesix.com/2019/09/02/eddie-griffin-ditches-nj-comedy-venue-after-technical-difficulties/|title = Eddie Griffin ditches NJ comedy venue after technical difficulties|date = September 2, 2019}}</ref> Comedian Drew Fraser became the replacement for the Saturday shows and the patrons for Griffin's shows had their ticket money refunded.<ref>{{cite web | url-access=limited |archive-url = https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/75661705637/10157216584020638 |archive-date = 2022-04-30| url = https://www.facebook.com/StressFactory/posts/10157216584020638?__tn__=-R |title = Stress Factory Comedy Club on Facebook |website=Facebook}}{{cbignore}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{official website|http://stressfactory.com/}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stress Factory}} Category:Comedy clubs in the United States Category:Buildings and structures in New Brunswick, New Jersey Category:Tourist attractions in New Brunswick, New Jersey