How to Handle a Heckler
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
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Hecklers are what make stand up unique, and also terrifying. In this video, we cover some strats to silence, befriend or out-wit a heckler, without resorting to murder. Featuring Bill Burr, Jimmy Carr, Bo Burnham and many many more!
Andrew Conway Document - www.juggling.or...
Patton Oswalt, 'A Closed Letter to Myself About Heckling Thievery and Rape Jokes - genius.com/Pat...
Jerry Seinfeld, Heckle Therapist - wagingnonviole...
1:10 wow. Schlatt looked way different in 99
People are sick. "Schlugg" shot a man in cold blood on national TV and they're laughing
@@cornstarch8506thats because they didnt know "schlapitalist society and its future" would kill everyone else, this is footage from '99 after all
One joke andy.
Every time you post a video I'm hyped. They're consistently fantastic.
Yep. :)
I once saw Jim Jefferies live in Glasgow, on the evening of a UK general election. He very briefly touched on the topic, went to move on but someone in the crowd shouted out "Scoootland!" What followed was five full minutes of Jim berating the heckler by inventing a life story for him where the guy's constantly interrupting everyone around him, and concludes with him on his deathbed dying of cancer, he's lying there with his family, and says he has one big regret in his life. His family asks him "...was it the "Scoootland" thing at that show?" "....Yes." Then he dies. It was incredible to witness. Perfect example of the technique of giving the heckler far more attention than they wanted
"You have a beer. I have a microphone. God has a plan." - Still one of the best heckler shutdowns of all time.
"The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before"
Thats the most pretentious nonsense word salad ever written in the history of words
Wait, why?
@@Totallyunderrated-1 Here is the full quote - “The best swordsman in the world doesn't need to fear the second best swordsman in the world; no, the person for him to be afraid of is some ignorant antagonist who has never had a sword in his hand before; he doesn't do the thing he ought to do, and so the expert isn't prepared for him; he does the thing he ought not to do; and often it catches the expert out and ends him on the spot.” - Mark Twain
@@Totallyunderrated-1 you're an unsophisticated numbskull.
Hey a heckler in the comments @@Totallyunderrated-1
Got Heckled tonight. This was really helpful. Thanks!
i heckled you that night, very helpful for me too!
It's true i was in the audience
One of my favourite approaches I've ever seen was Tom Wrigglesworth at the Comedy Store in Manchester. Someone heckled but fluffed one word and Tom turned it into an entire routine about how this guy had been rehearsing the heckle all day, practising in the mirror, getting ready for his big moment and then messed it up. He was totally sincere and heartfelt towards the guy, as if he was rooting for him to do well and not screw up his one chance. The fact that it was some generic "you're sh*t" heckle made it all the better. It was brilliant and kind and funny and completely shut down anyone else from heckling, which is no small feat considering that the Manchester Store on a weekend can be a bit lively (as that clip of Jim Jeffries getting punched can attest to). It's always stuck with me as such a great way to deal with the situation.
Really enjoy all your videos and it's always a treat when a new one drops.
Great video! One of the best comebacks I ever heard was, "Excuse me sir - what do you do for a living? Yeah, well I don't go to your office and shit on your desk, do I?" How about, "Ok - ladies and gentlemen - please raise your hands - how many in here paid your twenty bucks to listen to this asshole?" Actually, it was Kevin Nealon who did this in a much nicer fashion - something along the lines of, "Sir, 125 people paid their good money to come see this show, please don't deprive them of it." As a former teacher, I found one of the best ways to stop a disruptive student was to simply continue with my lesson, but walk over and stand next to him or her.
I'm always amazed at the fact that I'm absolutely gripped throughout the entirety of every single vid that you post. Thanks for uploading and keep up the great work!
Now I'm afraid to comment until the video is over
I love this😂
The comedian Simon Evans recently said on a podcast that in his early career he did a gig at the legendary ‘Tunnel Club’ which was owned by cult comic Malcolm Hardee and was a venue infamous for hecklers.
Anyway when he got to the mic a razor sharp heckler noticed he had very small eyes and simply asked “where are your eyes” and it got such a huge laugh the audience erupted in applause, even Evans acknowledged it was a great heckle, so much so that he now begins every show by saying to the audience - “one question you may have is whilst this is all very well, where are his eyes?” which gets a laugh every time.
That for me is a great example of someone using a heckle to there own advantage further down their careers!
(Oh and also what’s hilarious is years later that same heckler turns out to be a cab driver and he recognised Evans when he got in the back of his taxi and they bonded over that same heckle 😂)
35 minute video and not one clip, not one line of dialogue, not one SECOND devoted to Bill Burr's nuke-'em-from-orbit scorched earth method of dealing with hecklers in Philadelphia circa 2006 smh
It was the Heckling equivalent of storming a battlefield alone and then turning your opposition to your side.
maybe it is because Bill Burr has repeatedly said that the philly rant makes him sick to his bones. He considers that event one of his lowest points and he's not proud of it at all... I saw him threat a podcast or a radio interview to leave if they even mentioned that episode, they did and he did leave...
@ We get that, but this isn't someone who's trying to get Bill Burr to come on their podcast.
They made a 35 minute video about shutting down hecklers and literally ignored the single most infamous, brutal, efficient, and effective heckler takedown in the modern comedic era and possibly ever.
The point here is that the subject is literally incomplete without talking about this. It would be like teaching someone about the American Civil War without ever mentioning slavery, which is, of course, absolutely absurd.
NINE minutes left
Insightful, compelling and beautifully balanced - that was the fastest 35min UA-cam vid I've ever watched! Great work sir
Stewart Lee's technique is a brilliant one for a comedian who has a difficult, nuanced act to get through (while at the same time having to maintain the image of a more popular entertainer who's let themselves go, of course)
I feel like the advice not given here (maybe implied?) is stay in character. Stewart Lee reacts like Stewart Lee. Dropping your persona would be terrible- unless you're suddenly switching for comedic effect, like Steven Wright suddenly screaming at someone.
@@mankytoes
Easy for Stewart Lee. Lol. Part of his stage persona is contempt for the audience, so when the audience act contemptuous, all he has to do is lean into "Stewart Lee".
Watched this one again. Why it doesn’t has a billion views is beyond me. Insightful, well crafted and brilliantly produced. I hope you’ll post something again.
Bill Burr is a heckler God.
I remember his comeback to a woman when talking about beating women and making it another part of the set, and who can forget getting Philadelphia back on side by insulting them for 15 minutes
We’re talking about hitting women, sweetheart!
@@christiananderson6761
"And I think u just added another reason. RIGHT DOWN THE FUCKIN MIDDLE!!" 😂
Bill shitting in Philly was amazing. There's a transcript of in somewhere in the internet, it's still just as funny written down. Lol.
Jimmy Carr is the real god
Incredible editing, incredible research, just awe-inspiring.
This channel is a GEM. Excellent dissection and analysis of the worst thing about comedy shows. Love the slue of examples you gave for each type of rebuttal.
Jerrod Carmicheals new special is interesting for this , by the end it is very much a conversation and yet in that context it works.
True, but it wasn't really heckling. That was just people reacting to Jerrod's story (and a Q&A that Bo Burnham edited together seamlessly with the show). Source is me since I was at the Rothaniel taping!
I did a comedy show once. I got a heckler and all I did was pause and said "shhhhh the adults are talking."
What was the heckler doing if you don't mind me asking. I want to be come a standup comedian
@DUTYCALLS-1 part of my set highlight's how i'm abnormally short for a man and I put it in the middle of the set. for like 10 minutes after all he would between punchlines would go "cause you're short!"
@Bowling_Dude I would attacked back with, but we both know you got something shorter than my high *pause* ....that really really matters
@Bowling_Dude but got to give it you for handling it, personally am trying / practicing and my fear is being called out by a heckler who studied at roast school
@@DUTYCALLS-1 best to point out the immaturaty or obserdity of the act. gets the crowd on your side while also making them look like a fool.
1:50 that's rich coming from Joe Rogan of all people.
🤣He is right though
Takes one to know one, and Joe certainly qualifies.
Joe Rogan, “comedian” lol
@@skullzyy6633not anymore
@@JAzzWoods-ik4vv he absolutely is right
“100% of hecklers at Dbags”
You can hate Joe if you want, but he is right about that
Being heckled might be painful, but I promise you it isn't as painful as being the friend of a type one heckler as he constantly gets told off. It was a very high audience participation show and we were sat on the stage, this was Trevor Lock at Edinburgh Fringe last year, and my mate just wasn't understanding when he needed to be quiet, despite Trevor explaining carefully to him three times. You know when something is so embarrassing your stomach actually hurts?
I once heckled at a comedy show and I'd say it's for a different reason. Heckler #4 the guy who wants to drive into a tree. I was going through a rough (and self destructive) time and basically I wanted to be verbally destroyed. But the problem was the comedian just didn't have the quick wit/prepared lines to do it. And I just stopped because I felt bad for him. I felt like an asshole (which certainly didn't help). For the record, I wouldn't do it again.
the biggest issues with hecklers IMO:
1. a person buys a ticket for a show with a comedian, not a heckler
2. a heckler heckles without consent from the audience or comedian
3. it ruins the comedian sets
so they're could maybe possibly be shows where heckling is allowed explicitly as to not ruin anyone's time too much - yet i can see how this probably wouldn't end well. alas stop being selfish
8:49 Steve Harvey looks like he’s wearing a Steve Harvey mask.
How NOT to handle a heckler: see: Michael Richards
8:58 Steven Hoffsetter is also the smugest comedian ever who gets defensive at any pushback
Literally the moment I saw who it was I was gonna write this exact same comment, dude is such a pissbaby!
Watched this for the 3rd time know. your channel is criminally underrated. And I'll be forever grateful to you for introducing me to Stewart Lee
Excellent video, love all the images and examples you put with a well written script. I almost want to do stand up again to test out some of the ideas to combat the hecklers.
Fantastic video, keeping it entertaining and insightful the whole way through. You deserve 100x the views!
1:56 ol Joe knows a thing or two about douchebags
If I were a comedian, I’d always bring a secret tomato to my shows so that if I got heckled I could pull it out and offer it to the heckler saying they were welcome to throw it at me.
Bill Burr’s Philly rant is awesome 😂
I love how this guy talks to us as if we are all comedians. Im a painte and decorator, dont include me in your "we"
Hey, guys, there’s a civilian in the house! Get the bouncers!
I am
I'm a heckler
Its pretty clear that you are not a comedian, but a heckler.
@@belzi87 whats brown and sticky?
Thank UA-cam's algorithm for my view. Ive repeatedly scrolled past your video in my feed, simply didnt feel interested yet the algorithm never gave up. Over a period of weeks, it's persistently kept recommending this video for me. So relentless. Ive finally given in and it was worth it. thank you 🙏
Saw Jim Jefferies a few years back in Cape Cod. When he began a story about how he’s lactose intolerant, and therefore can’t eat things like cheese or cake, one drunk man screeched out from the crowd “CHEESECAKE!” And I shit you not, Jim Jefferies went on like a 20 minute tirade, it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. He retold the entire life story of this complete stranger from birth to death, all based around him having one moment where he shouts “CHEESECAKE” at a comedy show, it fucking killed.
To my knowledge nobody took a video- I’ve looked around for it and can’t seem to find it. The bit was so funny I was almost convinced Jefferies had planted that guy just to do this 20 minute pre-planned bit but I’ve never seen him do that again so I think he really may have made it up on the spot.
Someone mentioned a similar situation with Jefferies where he did the "ur life story" thing after someone shouted "Scotland". The heckler probably isn't planted, most likely Jefferies keeps this bit in his back pocket especially for that type of heckler.
It makes me sad that this video has so few views. This is an excellent video and I’m so glad that this channel exists
Jimmy carr is the best at dealing with hecklers. He even makes heckling a big part of his shows now
Bill Burr is a legend. Absolutely thrashed a Philly crowd
Drew Lynch is worth mentioning, he turns almost every heckle into a wholesome experience.
Heckler: "I once saw a donkey on the highway in Morocco!"
Mustapha el Atrassi: "For real?... He must have thought the exact same thing."
Legit best youtube channel out there
I like Randy Feltface's approach of deliberately looking for potential hecklers and then making them the butt of the joke or using them as props to improve his own improv. There's an art to not being mean-spirited and still being able to read the crowd even when you're hiding under a table manning a puppet in fun and expressive ways.
top tier content, one of the best directors/channels on youtube
Kiwi accent. I like to imagine Guy Montgomery moonlights as a comedy video essayist and this is his channel.
Joe Rogan with hair is so funny. He’s a man that should always have been bald
Most hecklers are challenging a professional wordsmith to a battle of wits, though they, themselves, have arrived completely unarmed.
I’ve alway’s enjoyed the simple, “that’s nice,” or, “oh, that’s nice, but…,” if you have something to add in the same breath.
So going the Bill burr route and roasting an entire city is not an option??
the venn diagram of hecklers and sufferers of the dunning-kruger effect is a circle.
seriously how confident do you have to be in your sense of humor to provoke a professional ROASTER in front of hundreds of people already on THEIR SIDE?
just found your page, incredible concept for a channel, can’t wait to delve in and learn more about an industry that i’m not familiar with outside of being an audience member :)
1:09 this is the perfect joke to do as a stand up. Bring a fake gun that shoots blanks. Like cartoonishly noticeable blanks then ask the heckler to come up and as he's approaching pretend to shoot him then then say "let's continue with the show" like nothing happened
This is good. I have social anxiety, I heard someone say do something that frightened the hell out of you, performing stand up comedy (and I'm coming up with jokes ) is frightening, but unlike when I ride a dangerous ride, I feel my chances to live are higher. Get the audience on my side interesting, Jimmy Carr or Bill Burr how they deal with hecklers is funny. When I go to a comedy club, I go preparing to laugh, if I don't find a comedian or his or her joke funny, I just don't laugh, I don't go and say your act sucks, I'm going to go watch some comedians who destroy hecklers to see how a bunch of them do it, so when I go to open mic night, I try to see how it's done. I'm of the mindset easily offended people should never go to comedy clubs
I have only heckled once in my life. It was the last set of the night; the comedian was struggling and told an especially weak gag. The host, who was still onstage, faked a laugh. The comic, in a kidding-but-really-not tone, said, “I don’t need your help.” I called out, “Yes, you do.” The host cracked up and even the comic admitted that was funny.
I have a slight point to add here. I'm referencing one special LEGENDARY German comedy act. You can even find it on UA-cam, but let's just have this conversation for now. Because it wasn't technically someone "heckling". The moment that made the performance memorable was caused by a woman in the crowd however.
At one point, you can hear a woman laughing so hard, that she's having a hard time to even breathe. And that makes the WHOLE crowd burst into laughter even harder. You gotta see it to understand and even believe it. But in this case, I would say I was happy for the "heckler". ...
In casw you want to witness it for yourself, look for a standup Performance from "Johann König" about "Die Jesus-Tagebücher"
(Americans can type "oe" for "ö" and "ue" for "ü", if you don't have those keys! 🥰)
@@chanceneck8072 Americans can also copy and paste ;-)
My friend, you absolutely crushed this one, and I'm happy I found your channel and subscribed. ✌
Excellent video.
I think this video misses the space for the occasions where heckling is - to a degree - invited. If they are doing crowdwork, it can be a good source of comedy, provided you don't actually try to upstage them or make it about you.
2:17 IAN HAWK!!!
Bro is heckling these clips, its like 60% commentary
Bill Burr is so great at dealing with hecklers because he’s been heckled so damn much. He came from such a rough pedigree and really earned his stripes.
I’m about to heckle you. “Jesus Christ dude, took you long enough to get to the heckling”.
This whole video could have been Patrice dealing with hecklers and I wouldn’t have been upset
Excellent video, as always. More subscribers are coming, keep it up.
There’s gotta be a word for the emotion I feel towards hecklers. Like I can completely understand being FULLY enraged after spending money to go see a show of someone you like, only to have it talked over the whole time. BUT at the same time.. some of the greatest moments from standup, I’ve seen, is a comedian playing off a heckler. Like the “shut up bitch!” part in Delirious is something out of this world hilarious.
My girlfriend heckles me all the time in bed, so this was very useful information.
Awesome Video, as always. It really shows how much effort you put into those.
13:33 Maslow's Hierarchy of Heckling.
Appreciate the use of Stormzy in the background mate
1st time viewer, loved the editing/production
Really, the comedian Stewart Lee should ask who brought the heckler.
The chicken screaming was hilarious honestly.
Great video mate. It's interesting to see all the different responses from comedians. It must be very annoying!
Never thought I'd hear xtc functions on the low in this video 😂😂😂
Welcome to the Heckler section! 😁
It's situational. Some comedians struggle. Some are pretty good at managing it, and then some like Jimmy Carr love it, and it makes up 25% of their show.
Just wondering if I can apply any of these techniques to my boss as they're constantly heckling me, with things like "what time do you call this?" and " I don't pay you to sit and eat"
As was pointed out in the video, sometimes it is difficult for some audience members to keep from blurting out an interjection from time to time, especially when the comedian onstage is considered to be “up to the challenge”, and yes, I myself have on occasion been known to “lose blather control” at such moments.
One such occasion was at a Bill Hicks show I attended around 1991 (seated in the front row as was my usual habit). Bill was in top form, well into his post-abuse “recovery” phase and was “reminiscing” over just how out of control his drinking and drugging had gotten at its nadir, and I reflexively yelled out a derisive “Oh God, I was at one of those shows!” Instantly Bill spun around to face me and with a twinkle in his eye shot back “I was a lot funnier than tonight, wasn’t I?” and got a huge laugh. Wisely, I didn’t push my luck by trying to out-funny him with a response to his (obviously rhetorical) question, and instead returned to my proper role as one of those lucky people silently basking in Hicks’ presence.
One more anecdote: I don’t know if you can truly call this a “heckle” but it was definitely a case of an audience member (yeah, me again) endeavoring to “make his mark” on a show, but in this case I think it it was more than understandable on my part; tell me if you agree or if you think I’m just being an egotistical douchebro:
A few years ago at SXSW, there was a free “Drunk History Club Crawl” held at a venue on Austin’s Sixth Street, featuring Sean Patton and Mark Normand. Pretty much right off the bat they revealed that they had not actually prepared... well, *anything* and called off the ‘crawl’ part of the show, then started floundering trying to come up with ways to entertain the crowd. Those in attendance were very congenial about the whole thing, as it was still early, they were only mildly intoxicated, and everyone was quite aware that they hadn’t paid to be there - but still, the “show” was pretty much going nowhere.
Well, this was my home turf and I knew a zillion funny stories about the area and so I started writing stuff down on napkins and waving my notes at them, yelling “Here, check this out!” After an awkward start that threatened to leave me looking like a total jerk, someone from SXSW apparently told the guys I was cool, and so they read out one of my bits about the time Johnny Depp lived in a loft over the “Weirdo Museum” across the street while he was in town recording an album of ABBA and Daniel Johnston covers with the Butthole Surfers. It got a good response, and that kinda kick-started things and before long everybody was having a great time - and whenever there was a lull they’d be yelling out “Has Lieck got another note for us yet? Pass that sucker up!”
They ended up declaring me “the official Drunk History Fact Checker” which of course is an achievement that I’m quite proud of.
Saw Stewart Lee recently in Glasgow and I still can't work out if he intended a heckle or not. Since it happened during a bit where he was repeating something, the next time he repeated it he acted as if he wanted the same heckle to happen again. Then on the next time around when someone (not even sure it was the same person) did it again, he got annoyed that they didn't do it all three times and "there's no rule of comedy that says you do it once, then don't, then do it the third time"
He's a genius.
Clicked on this video hoping to see Stew and wasn't disappointed. His handling of hecklers is one of a kind, not only hilarious but also so seamlessly unified with his onstage persona it could almost be written into the script. Also, an eskimo face from the 90s has let itself go.
Statler and Waldorf are every comedian's nightmare, because they are funnier than most comedy acts.
Jimmy Carr is hilarious handling hecklers
Great video. Best channel at the moment. Keep it up 🤟
how have you not gone viral yet
great work on the video
If anyone is looking for the song at 7:35 it's They by JEM. It's one of those songs you listen back then as a kid and you totally forgot its name.
If this helped you, you're welcome.
@Comedy Without Errors could you please put song credits in the endcard next time? Many thanks x.x
so glad you included Bo ♥️
As a teacher in junior high, I'm taking notes!
Just made my first patreon contribution to any creator. You're doing god's work! Bless ye!
That tricked mentioned by Titus, I've done that by instinct when a relative shames me into staying at a concert I didn't want to go to. They usually try to get front row seats, and I can't help being a buzz killer.
Excellent 👏👏👏😊
Fantastic work!
I think people w siblings usually know intuitively how to deal w hecklers lol thus Bill Burr’s genius. Bill Burr has had this skill since he learned English.
Loving these!
I miss when he made these instruction-style comedic technique video essay types of videos
"Well, at least I have public hairs"
It also depends what jibes with your persona.
Did anyone found the Andrew Conway document? Can't find it anywhere
www.juggling.org/~conway/juggler/MAL.TXT
Wonderful video, bravo.
Amazing quality content. Just wow.