American comedian Arj Barker is on the defence after last weekend's incident

Barker has sparked controversy across the Tasman after he asked a mother and baby to leave his Melbourne comedy show on Saturday, because the baby was disrupting his performance.

He says he had no interest in shaming the woman or her child - but he wanted to create a quiet soundscape. 

"I just wanted to create an uninterrupted soundscape so I could do my show. This was a very quiet theatre... it's a beautiful theatre, but you could hear a pin drop in there." 

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