Article from NBC New York:
A professional clown claims his business in and around New York City has dropped because of the marketing around the horror clown movie “It.”Â
John Nelson, who runs Clowns in Town with a partner, says his business has gotten several cancellations in the last couple of weeks, and he’s blaming the supernatural horror movie for scaring the public.
“Last week, my partner and I had six cancellations of birthday parties,” he told News 4 New York. “I have heard from reports from other clowns, in New York and other cities, that they have been canceled as well.”Â
He said billboards and TV ads promoting the movie have been showing scary clowns, and Google search of “clown” shows scary clowns, like from “It.”Â
Nelson says most clowns get paid on site and no deposit is required, so the cancellations “result in a huge loss to our livelihoods.”Â
Nelson, who studied clowning with Leslie Noble upstate in Syracuse, has been working in the New York area for the past 10 years, doing mainly children’s birthdays and some corporate events.
He and his partner, along with a group of other local clowns, plan to rally outside Union Square Regal Cinema Thursday evening.
“Our hope is to raise enough awareness so when people think of clowns they won’t think of scary murderers but people who dedicate their lives to bringing joy,” said Nelson.Â
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