Getting fired from your job is not a fun experience, but one New Zealand just made headlines with the humorous way that he dealt with this situation.

Josh Thompson was working as a copywriter for an ad agency in Auckland when he received a foreboding email from his bosses calling for a meeting “to discuss some matters in regards to his role” with the company. Making matters even worse was the fact that human resources encouraged him to bring a “support person” to the meeting.

Since New Zealand law mandates that employees be given the option of bringing a support person or support animal to this kind of meeting, Josh knew he was about to be fired. Instead of bringing a loved one to the meeting, however, Josh  decided to have a little fun by spending $200 on a clown.

Josh showed up to the meeting with “Joe” the clown, who took the job very seriously despite the bizarre nature of the 20-minute gig. During the meeting, Joe made a few balloon animals and even mimed the act of crying when Josh’s former employers handed over the termination paperwork.

“He nodded his head along when I received the bad news as if he was also receiving the bad news,” Josh said. “Professionalism at its finest, really.”

Though Josh’s bosses did not react much to the clown during the meeting, they later said they were grateful to him for “spicing up the meeting” and “seeing the humorous side” of the ordeal. Josh was also very pleased with him, and he says everyone should consider bringing a clown to meetings in which they are fired.

“If you’ve got family, friends, step mums, step dads, step kids, bring them by all means,” he said. “But if there’s a clown available, especially Joe, I’d definitely recommend it.”

“Joe” is actually 26 year-old Joseph Brosnahan, who said this was definitely one of the top 10 weirdest gigs that he has ever accepted as an actor or part-time clown.

“[My boss] said ‘Feel free to say no to this because it’s pretty out-there, but there’s this guy who’s apparently got word that he’s going to be fired and he’s allowed to bring a support person with him, and as a joke he’d like to bring in a clown. Would you be up for doing that?’” Joseph said. “And I just thought that sounded so hilarious I couldn’t resist.”

Thankfully, this story has a happy ending, as Josh has already started a new job at another advertising agency in Auckland. Hopefully, he will not be needing Joe’s surfaces again anytime soon!