Image: NY PostA New Zealand man facing the inevitable at work brought a support clown to his redundancy meeting — the €120 performer provided comedic relief as his boss gave him the bad news.
Joshua Jack said he sensed the bad news when he received an email from his agency employer telling him they needed to have a meeting to discuss his role this week.
“It did talk about being able to bring a support person,” Jack said in an interview.
“I thought, it’s either a promotion or worse. I thought it was best to bring in a professional — so I paid $200 and hired a clown.”
Jack did get fired in the end, but he said his bosses at the advertising agency FCB were grateful he decided to “spice up the meeting” and “could see the humorous side.”
The clown mimed crying as Jack’s employers pushed the redundancy paperwork across the table and created a balloon unicorn and poodle to cheer Jack up.
“They were getting a free service and also getting the entertainment from Joe the clown,” Jack said, but conceded the clown was a little distracting.
“It was sort of noisy, him making balloon animals, so we did have to tell him to be quiet from time to time.”
The clown thought it was a “touch unusual,” Jack said, but was “overall supportive” in the meeting.
“He was $200 so basically he was, I assume, one of the best clowns in Auckland,” Jack said. “I definitely recommend bringing Joe or another clown. Highly recommended.”
