Don’t make him say it again. Orlando Bloom halted a production of his play Killer Joe in London to tell an audience member to put her iPad away.
According to an eyewitness account given to British journalist Mark Shenton, 41-year-old Bloom threw the script out the window to intervene during the Thursday, July 26, matinee show. “’I need YOU to put iPad AWAY NOW!’” the London theater critic tweeted, relaying the actor’s alleged quotes. “’PUT that f—king iPad away now and I will wait.’”
Other attendees who tweeted about the incident commended the Pirates of the Caribbean star for staying in character during his outburst. “So at today’s matinee of @KillerJoePlay #OrlandoBloom shut down a lady filming on her iPad TWICE and he maintained character the entire time and that alone was worth a standing ovation,” one wrote. “Also, if Killer Joe told me to put my iPad down he so wouldn’t need to tell me twice.”
However, actor Harry Edwin responded to Shenton’s tweet, saying he was seated behind the audience member whom Bloom called out mid-performance, and he believes she had good reason to keep the device out during the show. “Although it would have looked bad, in her defence she was only using it for her fan as the auditorium was roasting!” he replied.
The producers of Killer Joe addressed the ordeal in a statement obtained by Us Weekly: “There was an incident at yesterday’s matinee of Killer Joe that was dealt with swiftly and efficiently by the Front of House team. The Trafalgar Studios is a very intimate performance space, which can make the use of electronic devices by any audience member extremely distracting for the Company. The Trafalgar Studios’ team [does] a great job of making sure everyone at the Theatre can enjoy the live experience.”
Bloom did not encounter such trouble when girlfriend Katy Perry flew to London amid her world tour to watch the Lord of the Rings star perform. The 33-year-old “Teenage Dream” singer proudly shared a photo of a Killer Joe program accented with little red hearts on her Instagram Story in May.
Killer Joe is a dark comedy about Texas-based hitman Joe Cooper, played by Bloom. The actor’s West End run officially began in June and is expected to end in August.
