NJ Clown Entertainers Losing Business Due To 'Creepy Clown' Craze

Some New Jersey clown performers are receiving threatening phone calls and are losing business in light of the numerous "creepy clown" incidents that have been reported in recent weeks.

Patti Gonsky, who performs as “Sprinkles the Clown,” receives up to 17 threatening and prank calls a day from Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida, just to name a few places. She has been performing for 30 years.

“They’re getting bolder and tell me that if I come near their home, they’ll kill me,” Gonsky said. “You can hear kids giggling in the background. I tell them that the calls are being traced, and they immediately hang up.”

Gonsky said by now she would have 15 or 16 jobs booked for October by now. Instead, she has booked only four so far.

“It’s absolutely hurt my business because a lot of my clients come from out of state,” said Gonsky. "I really thought it would die down, but it’s gotten worse."

It has changed the way Gonsky conducts herself in public too. Her husband now accompanies her to shows.

“Back in the 1980s and 1990s I would have time between shows and go shopping as a clown,” Gonsky said. “Now, I don’t even want to drive to a show with my makeup on.”

Roxanne Castro Talarico, owner of Rockin’ Roxanne’s Party Magic Entertainment, posted on Facebook that the business will not send any clowns to events in October.

"The clowns who work with me, they're cute and adorable," said Castro Talarico. "I don't want them to get hurt by going to a party. We're here to make parties easy for the parents, not make anyone afraid or put anyone in harm's way."

“Creepy clown” sightings have been reported across the state, including Toms River, Glassboro, Clearview and Wayne.

The incidents took a more serious turn this week when two people wearing clown masks hung out of a Toyota and yelled at people on Route 23 in Butler. Two people, including one with a knife, were charged after Fair Lawn police stopped the car.

“Anybody who hides behind a mask is a coward,” said Tammy Piscopo, who has performed as “Trixie the Clown” for 30 years. “If these people want to scare people, get them back. Spray silly string on them if they come near you.”

A group called Clown Lives Matter North Jersey will host a “peaceful” march in Toms River next month to “show the solidarity of clowns and citizens,” a Facebook post about the event stated. The march will begin at The Sandcastle Diner at 5 p.m.

“I don’t have time to march,” Piscopo said. “That’s what these people, these teenagers doing these scary things, that’s what they want you do. They’re punk and cowards. Why should we have to live in fear?”

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Related: Parents Face Paying Restitution In Clown Hoaxes, Prosecutor's Office Says

Related: 2 People Wearing Clown Masks Frightened Driver On Highway: Fair Lawn Police

Related: More Creepy Clown Sightings In NJ, And They're Getting Creepier

Photo: Roxanne Castro Talarico dressed up a clown. — Courtesy of Roxanne Castro Talarico