After a video surfaced of comedian Corey Holcomb punching fellow comic Cristina Payne, Payne spoke out to TMZ, telling the outlet that she fears for her safety.
“I feel like Cory’s like threatened or tried to silence me or like where it’s like I’ve been in fear for my life, literally. I’m not able to leave the house sometimes.” Payne said in a tear-filled eight-minute interview. “It’s horrible the way he treats women, the way he talks about us, and then to the point where it’s like, really, you’re going to hit me because I’m telling you about God, and you need to change your ways. It’s just horrible, and I’m just disappointed in how nothing was done.”
The incident occurred in December 2024 outside the Hollywood Improv in California. In a clip obtained by The Bizi Room, the two comedians appear to be engaged in a confrontation outside of the venue. Within moments, Holcomb seemingly throws a right-handed punch to Payne’s face, setting off a pull-apart brawl.
In her conversation with TMZ, Payne recalled Holcomb threatening her during a previous incident in June 2024, saying he would “super sock this b-tch” and that Holcomb had a gun the night he allegedly punched her.
“That video really needs to start from when I walk out there initially instead of right there, because there’s a gun involved that he passed off to another female comedian and was like, ‘Oh go put that up for me before he hit me,” Payne said.
Payne says she obtained video of the incident the day after a court hearing regarding the matter.
“I never went back to pursue an appeal,” she said. “My attorney literally gave up after she was getting defamed and her character and everything. Literally, it’s horrible, the way he treats women and the way he talks about us. I went back to the police station so many times and the L.A. fires were an excuse everything or no detectives were available.”
Late Friday (Jan. 23), Payne shared scripture from Romans 8:8 on her Instagram feed. The passage reads, “The pain that you’re been feeling can’t compare to the joy that’s coming.”
Holcomb, who also has a restraining order against Payne, has not addressed her latest claims.
