Iowa woman arrested after using cellphone at Kevin Hart show

Let it be known that Philly's own Kevin Hart is serious about the "no cellphones" policy in place for his ongoing "What Now?" tour. At least one woman can tell you that after the comedian's Saturday show in Iowa.

Chyna R. Simms, 22, was arrested Saturday night after being pulled out of Hart's Iowa City show over using her cellphone and refusing to leave the Carver Hawkeye Arena, according to the University of Iowa Department of Public Safety. And it all reportedly started over Simms phoning a friend.

Via local news outlet KCRG:

Police said the staff for the show have a strict no cellphone policy. Despite this, Simms was observed calling one of her friends during the show.

Police said Simms was told to leave the show. When she refused several times to leave, Simms was arrested for criminal trespass.

During that arrest, police say that Simms did not cooperate, refusing to put her hands behind her back and needing to be carried from the venue. Additionally, police say that the woman kicked her arresting officers and "smelled strongly of alcohol" during the incident. She ultimately refused a breathalyzer test.

Currently, Simms faces charges of public intoxication, trespass, assault, and interference with official acts.

Hart, meanwhile, announced his current tour's no cellphone policy at least as far back as April, prohibiting texting, talking, photos, and video recording via the devices at his shows. He performed a show here in Philly in late August, where no attendees were arrested in connection with the comedian's cellphone policy.

However, prior to that show, reports indicate that some 150 people were removed from Hart's show in Syracuse on August 26. Still, though, no reported arrests there.

The North Philly native's anti-cellphone direction came at a time when the practice was something of a hot topic in the comedy world, with even comic legends like Chris Rock addressing the practice as a viable option for comedians to keep their evolving work their own.

"Prince doesn't run a demo on the radio," Rock told the Washington Post late last year. "But in stand-up, the demo gets out. There are a few guys good enough to write a perfect act and get on onstage, but everbody else workshops it and workshops it, and it can get real messy. It can get downright offensive."

Next up, Hart will perform at Madison, Wi.'s Kohl Center on Tuesday. Hopefully folks there have gotten the message.

[KCRG]