The crowd at Big Tony's Grill in McKinney was ready to laugh Tuesday night.
The performer everyone came to see might be the unlikeliest comic in the place, though, partly because it was approaching her bed time.
"I enjoy being able to make people laugh and tell jokes," 10-year-old Saffron Herndon said.
Herndon has been performing since she was 8-years-old — about two to three shows per week during the last two years — at clubs across North Texas and beyond.
"It's really cool," Herndon said about life as a comedian.
Herndon's father, Steve, is a comedian as well and supported Saffron's desire to try her hand at comedy.
"Every time she gets on stage, I'm proud," Steve Herndon said.
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Saffron's act is not kid's stuff. She regularly jokes about online predators, strippers and her parents' marriage being a sham. She admits that some of her audiences don't know what to make of a kid comic who tells jokes that might be considered edgy, even for adults.
"Sometimes I go up and I go, 'What were you guys expecting — me telling jokes about rainbows and puppies?'" she said about negative feedback.
But an increasing number of comedy fans have been exposed to Saffron's routine. Outlets like BuzzFeed and the Huffington Post have featured her story and several memes created by her father have became popular on Reddit.com.
Comedy performances have become a regular offering at Big Tony's Grill. Tuesday night was all about Saffron, though.
"I heard about this little girl coming out here and I had to see what she was doing" one patron said.
On Friday, Saffron will be featured live, in-studio on NBC's TODAY Show. (See the video below, or here).
"It's fun," she said about the increased attention. "It's really cool."
