Kiwi redundancy 'support clown' makes BBC's most memorable news stories of 2019 list

Britain's most revered news source, the BBC, has listed the Kiwi support clown who sat in on an Auckland ad-man's redundancy meeting among their most memorable stories of 2019.

The BBC "alternative end-of-the-year awards" is described as a "round up of the moments that put a smile on our faces in 2019".

Winning story under the "most creative response" category was Joe the Clown's exploits, who in September accompanied Auckland copywriter Josh Thompson to his redundancy meeting as his designated support person.

"Copywriter Josh Thompson could see the writing on the wall at work when he was called in for a meeting: he was facing redundancy. His managers encouraged him to bring a 'support person' to help cushion the blow, an option that is legally required in New Zealand," the BBC explained.

"But rather than bring a family member, a friend or even a pet, he splashed out NZ$200 [£100] on a clown called Joe, who sat making animal balloons during the meeting. The screeching sound proved to be somewhat of a distraction."

Joe the Clown and Thompson inside the redundancy meeting. SUPPLIED

Runner up in Joe's category was a Japanese student of ninja history who handed in a blank paper. Her professor realised the essay was written in invisible ink, following the ninja technique of "aburidashi", which involves spending hours soaking and crushing soybeans to make ink.

At the time, the story of Joe the Clown, who was revealed to be 26-year-old actor and freelance videographer Joseph Brosnahan, went viral and reached global news organisations.

Fired ad-man, Thompson, told the Herald: "I've got a couple messages from some journalists at the BBC and the New York Post".

USA Today said Thompson made sure he "had the last laugh" at the meeting, while DNA India labelled it "a bizarre but innovative move".

His story also ended up in the Telegraph and Time, and other publications.

The Sun called Thompson a "cheeky advertising exec", while the New York Post said "a support dog just wasn't going to cut it".

New York Times reporter Liam Stack shared the news on Twitter, with the line "meanwhile in New Zealand".

Washington Post's David J Lynch noted: "If I'm taking a 'clown' to a meeting where I'm getting fired, it's gonna be Pennywise."

From Joe the Clown's perspective, the experience was rather an upgrade on his usual working conditions.

Brosnahan said the redundancy meeting only took 20 minutes, and for the $200 charged, was good value compared to 90 minute kids' parties "that can be a lot of energy playing games".

I CANT DECIDE IF I WANT AN EMOTIONAL SUPPORT CLOWN, OR IF I WANT TO BE ONE. https://t.co/76SAKza9wX

— Jenny Boylan 🍯 (@JennyBoylan) September 13, 2019

Joseph Brosnahan, aka Joe the Clown who has been made famous after attending a redundancy meeting as a support person. 20 September 2019 New Zealand Herald photograph by Dean Purcell.