View source for Heckler

{{Short description|Verbal harasser}}
{{other uses}}
{{Redirect|Heckle}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Heckler2.jpg|right|thumb|A heckler in Washington, D.C., leans across a police line toward a demonstration of Iranians during the [[Iran hostage crisis]], August 1980.]]

A '''heckler''' is a person who harasses and tries to disconcert others with questions, challenges, or gibes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Heckler |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heckler |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=18 November 2011}}</ref> Hecklers are often known to shout discouraging comments at a performance or event, or to interrupt set-piece speeches, with the intent of disturbing performers or participants.

==Origin==
Although the word ''heckler'', which originated from the textile trade, was first attested in the mid-15th century, its use as "person who harasses" is from 1885.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=heckler|title=heckler {{!}} Origin and history of heckler by Online Etymology Dictionary|publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=10 September 2017}}</ref> To ''heckle'' was to tease or comb out [[flax]] or [[hemp]] fibres. The additional meaning, to interrupt speakers with awkward or embarrassing questions, was first used in Scotland, and specifically in early 19th century [[Dundee]], a town where the hecklers who combed the flax had established a reputation as the most belligerent element in the workforce. In the heckling factory, one heckler would read out the day's news while the others worked, to the accompaniment of interruptions and furious debate.<ref name=McKie>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/apr/28/broadcasting.comment |title=Unplotted ripostes |last1=McKie |first1=David |date=28 April 2005 |publisher=Guardian News and Media Limited |access-date=25 March 2013}}</ref>

Heckling was a major part of the [[vaudeville]] theater. Sometimes it was incorporated into the play. [[Milton Berle]]'s weekly TV variety series in the 1960s featured a heckler named Sidney Spritzer (German/[[Yiddish]] for '[[squirter]]') played by [[Borscht Belt]] comic [[Irving Benson]]. In the 1970s and 1980s, ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', which was also built around a vaudeville theme, featured two hecklers, [[Statler and Waldorf]] (two old men named after famous hotels). Heckles are now particularly likely to be heard at comedy performances, to unsettle or compete with the performer.

==Politics==
{{See also|Heckler's veto}}
<!-- 
NOTE: these sections could stand to be organized a bit more (by year, era, whatever)
with sub-headers (or at least date or year) for each "incident" so as to put them all in context.
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Politicians speaking before live audiences have less latitude to deal with hecklers. In the early 1930s, before becoming [[Premier of Ontario]], [[Mitchell Hepburn]] stood on top of a [[manure spreader]], apologizing to the crowd for speaking from a [[Tory|Tory platform]], at which someone in the crowd shouted, "Well, wind 'er up Mitch, she's never carried a bigger load!"<ref>{{cite hansard|jurisdiction= Ontario|title= Orders of the Day: Animal Health Act, 2009|url= http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?Date=2009-11-04&Parl=39&Sess=1&locale=en|house= [[Legislative Assembly of Ontario]]|date= 4 November 2009|speaker= [[John Yakabuski]]|position= MPP}} {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103002157/http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?Date=2009-11-04&Parl=39&Sess=1&locale=en |date=3 January 2017 }} at 10:00am</ref>

Legally, such conduct may constitute protected [[free speech]]. Strategically, coarse or belittling retorts to hecklers entail personal risk disproportionate to any gain. Some politicians, however, have been known to improvise a relevant and witty response despite these pitfalls. For example, [[Harold Wilson]], British Prime Minister in the 1960s, responded to a heckler disrupting his speech in the following manner:

{{block indent|left=1.5|1='''Heckler''': (''interrupting a passage in a Wilson speech about Labour's spending plans'') "What about [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]]?"{{pb}}
'''Wilson''': "The government has no plans to increase public expenditure in Vietnam."{{pb}}
'''Heckler''': "Rubbish!"{{pb}}
'''Wilson''': "I'll come to your special interest in a minute, sir."{{pb}}
'''Heckler''': (''a supporter of white supremacy in Rhodesia'') "Why are you talking to savages?"
'''Wilson''' : "We don't talk to savages. We just let them into our meetings."<ref name=McKie/>}}

[[Martin Luther King Jr.]]'s 1963 "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech was largely a response to supporter [[Mahalia Jackson]] interrupting his prepared speech to shout "Tell them about the dream, Martin".<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxlOlynG6FY Lazarus, Hayden of heckla.com (16 April 2018) : Former Martin Luther King, Jr. adviser and speechwriter Clarence B. Jones talks to WSJ's Monika Vosough about how Martin Luther King's favorite gospel singer Mahalia Jackson helped create the "I Have a Dream" speech]</ref> At that point, King stopped reading from his previously prepared speech and improvised the remainder of the speech—this improvised portion of the speech is the best-known part of the speech and frequently rated as one of the best of all time.

During a campaign stop just before winning the Presidency in 1980, [[Ronald Reagan]] was heckled by an audience member who kept interrupting him during a speech. Reagan tried to go on with his speech three times, but after being interrupted yet again glared at the heckler and snapped "Aw, shut up!" The audience immediately gave him a standing ovation.

In 1992, then-Presidential candidate [[Bill Clinton]] was interrupted by [[Bob Rafsky]], a member of the AIDS activism group [[ACT UP]], who accused him of "dying of ambition to be president"<ref>{{cite news|last=Toner |first=Robin |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/27/us/the-1992-campaign-aids-protester-provokes-clinton-s-anger.html |title=NY Times |work=New York Times |date=27 March 1992 |access-date=12 March 2009}}</ref> during a rally. After becoming visibly agitated, Clinton took the microphone off the stand, pointed to the heckler and directly responded to him by saying, "[...] I have treated you and all of the other people who have interrupted my rallies with a hell of a lot more respect than you treated me. And it's time to start thinking about that!" Clinton was then met with raucous applause.<ref>{{cite web|author=30 maart 2006 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGTQZnC-6a4  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/JGTQZnC-6a4 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Clinton's Angry Response to Heckler | date=30 March 2006 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=14 September 2009}}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=September 2022}}

On 9 September 2009, Representative [[Joe Wilson (American politician)|Joe Wilson]] (R-SC) shouted "You lie!" at President [[Barack Obama]] after President Obama stated that his health care plan would not subsidize coverage for undocumented noncitizens during [[September 2009 Barack Obama speech to joint session of Congress|a speech]] he was making to a joint session of Congress. Wilson later apologized for his outburst.<ref>[http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/09/wilson-apologizes-i-let-my-emotions-get-the-best-of-me/ "Wilson apologizes: 'I let my emotions get the best of me'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143756/http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/09/09/wilson-apologizes-i-let-my-emotions-get-the-best-of-me/ |date=12 June 2018 }}. Retrieved 9 September 2009.</ref>

On 25 November 2013, Ju Hong, a 24-year-old South Korean immigrant without legal documentation, shouted at Obama to use his executive power to stop deportation of unauthorized noncitizens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://inagist.com/all/405077610499022849/ |title=Heckler identifies self as 24-yo Ju Hong, undocumented South Korean grad student at SF State. Says Obama lying about no power to end deports  |access-date=2013-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203164254/http://inagist.com/all/405077610499022849/ |archive-date=3 December 2013}}</ref> Obama said "If, in fact, I could solve all these problems without passing laws in Congress, then I would do so." "But we're also a nation of laws, that's part of our tradition," he continued. "And so the easy way out is to try to yell and pretend like I can do something by violating our laws. And what I'm proposing is the harder path, which is to use our democratic processes to achieve the same goal."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/immigrationdebate/ci_24598028/obama-san-francisco-calls-immigration-reform|title=Obama's immigration speech in deep-blue San Francisco interrupted by anti-deportation hecklers|date=25 November 2013|website=mercurynews.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/video/heckler-obama-steals-attention-presidents-speech-21008837|title=Video: Heckler Disrupts Obama's Speech With Minute-Long Rant|website=ABC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/national-govt-politics/obama-addresses-heckler-during-speech-immigration/nb4qQ/ |title=Obama addresses heckler during speech on immigration |access-date=2013-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126145922/http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/national-govt-politics/obama-addresses-heckler-during-speech-immigration/nb4qQ/ |archive-date=26 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/national/obama-addresses-heckler-during-speech-immigration/nb494/|title=Obama addresses heckler during speech on immigration|website=daytondailynews.com|access-date=26 November 2013|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082356/http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/national/obama-addresses-heckler-during-speech-immigration/nb494/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/national/obama-addresses-heckler-during-speech-immigration/nb494/ |title=Obama addresses heckler during speech on immigration |access-date=2013-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402144614/http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/national/obama-addresses-heckler-during-speech-immigration/nb494/ |archive-date=2 April 2015}}</ref> 

=== Audience control ===
<!-- 
NOTE: possible use for subheader here, distinguishing the use of "audience screening" as a means of discouraging political heckling.
NOTE: 'astroturfing' and 'audience screening' are arguably distinct, changed to a 'see also'
-->
<!-- What? -->
One modern political approach to discourage heckling is to ensure that major events are given before a "tame" audience of sympathizers, or conducted to allow restrictions on who may remain on the premises (see also, ''[[astroturfing]]''). The downside is this may make heckling incidents even more newsworthy. This happened to [[Tony Blair]] during a [[photo op]] visit to a hospital during the 2001 general election campaign, and again in 2003 during a speech.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2690549.stm "Blair's heckler states his case"], BBC, 24 January 2003.</ref>

In 2004, American Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] was interrupted mid-speech by Perry Patterson, a middle-aged mother in a pre-screened rally audience. After various supportive outbursts that were permitted ("Four more years", "Go Bush!"), Patterson uttered "No, no, no, no" and was removed from the speech area and told to leave. She refused, and was arrested for criminal [[trespass]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/02/09/coverstory.html |title=Woman utters No |publisher=Eugeneweekly.com |access-date=12 March 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025003616/http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2006/02/09/coverstory.html |archive-date=25 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Later, in 2005, Cheney received some heckling that was broadcast during his trip to New Orleans, after [[Hurricane Katrina]] ravaged the city. The heckling occurred during a press conference in [[Gulfport, Mississippi|Gulfport]], Mississippi, in an area that was cordoned off for public safety reasons, and then further secured for the press conference. Nevertheless, emergency room physician Ben Marble got close enough to the proceedings and could be heard yelling, "Go fuck yourself, Mr. Cheney". Cheney laughed it off and continued speaking.<ref>June Deery: ''Consuming Reality: The Commercialization of Factual Entertainment''.  MacMillan, 2012.  Page 71.</ref> The heckle was a reference to Cheney's use of the phrase the previous year, when during a heated exchange with Senator [[Patrick Leahy|Patrick Joseph Leahy]], Vermont, he said "fuck yourself" on the floor of the senate.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cheney Dismisses Critic With Obscenity|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3699-2004Jun24.html|website=washingtonpost.com|access-date=9 October 2014}}</ref>

On 15 October 2005, ''[[The Scotsman]]'' reported<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2094782005 |title=Iran denies troop attack links |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070513220441/http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=2094782005 |archive-date=13 May 2007 |work=The Scotsman}}</ref> "Iranian ambassador Dr Seyed Mohammed Hossein Adeli... speaking at the annual Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament conference... During his speech to the CND several people were told to leave the room following protests at Iran's human rights record. Several protesters shouted "Fascists" at the ambassador and the organisers of the conference. [[Walter Wolfgang]], the 82-year-old peace campaigner who was forced out of the Labour Party conference last month, was in the audience."

On Thursday, 20 April 2006, a heckler from the [[Falun Gong]] spiritual movement entered the US [[White House]] grounds as a reporter and interrupted a formal arrival ceremony for Chinese president [[Hu Jintao]]. Moments into Hu's speech at the event, [[Wang Wenyi]], perched on the top tier of the stands reserved for the press, began screaming in English and Chinese: "President [[George W. Bush|Bush]] stop him. Stop this visit. Stop the killing and torture."<!--  The heckler was allowed to continue for several minutes despite the heavy presence of security personnel typical of such high level meeting of officials, prompting speculation that the incident was planned with the tacit cooperation of the White House in order to embarrass the Chinese president, hence possibly making this heckling incident one which was found justified by its audience. --><ref>[http://cbs13.com/topstories/topstories_story_110093156.html "No breakthrough in US, China talks"]  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927011756/http://cbs13.com/topstories/topstories_story_110093156.html |date=27 September 2007 }}</ref> President Bush later apologised to his guest.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/frontpage/story/0,,1758305,00.html |title=Protester gatecrashes Hu visit as China and US fail to make progress |work=The Guardian |location=London |date= 21 April 2006|access-date=12 March 2009 | first=Suzanne | last=Goldenberg}}</ref>

[[Medea Benjamin]] of [[Code Pink]] repeatedly interrupted a major speech by President [[Barack Obama]] regarding United States policy in the [[war on terror]] at the [[National Defense University (Washington, D.C.)|National Defense University]] on 23 May 2013.<ref name="Medea Benjamin v. President Obama">{{cite web |url= http://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/24/medea_benjamin_v_president_obama_codepink|title= Medea Benjamin v. President Obama|website= [[Democracy Now!]]|date= May 24, 2013|access-date=May 26, 2013}}</ref><ref name=business_insider_obama_speech_heckle>{{cite web |author=Brett LoGiurato |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-heckled-guantanamo-bay-heckler-protester-2013-5 |title=Here's The Protester Who Heckled Obama in the Middle of His Big Speech on Terrorism |website=[[Business Insider]] |date=May 23, 2013 |access-date=March 29, 2015}}</ref>

==Sport==
Hecklers can also appear at sporting events, and usually (but not always) direct their taunts at a visiting team. Fans of the [[Philadelphia Eagles]] [[American football]] team are notorious for heckling; among the most infamous incidents were [[booing]] and subsequently throwing snowballs at a performer dressed as [[Santa Claus]] in a halftime show in 1968, and cheering at the career-ending injury of visiting team player [[Michael Irvin]] in 1999. Often, sports heckling will also involve throwing objects onto the field; this has led most sports stadiums to ban glass containers and bottlecaps. Another famous heckler is [[Robert Szasz]], who regularly attends [[Tampa Bay Rays]] baseball games and is known for loudly heckling one opposing player per game or series. Former [[Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] football star [[Dejan Savićević]] was involved in an infamous incident with a heckler in which during an interview, a man on the street was heard shouting off-camera: "You're a piece of shit!". Savićević berated the man, and went on to finish the interview, without missing a beat.

In English and Scottish [[association football|football]], heckling and swearing from the stands, and [[football chant]]s such as [[who ate all the pies?]] are common.

Australian sporting audiences are known for creative heckling. Perhaps the most famous is [[Yabba]] who had a grandstand at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]] named after him, and now a statue.

The sport of [[cricket]] is particularly notorious for heckling between the teams themselves, which is known as [[sledging (cricket)|sledging]].

At the NBA Drafts of recent years, many fans have gone with heckling [[ESPN]] [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] analyst [[Stephen A. Smith]]. Most notably, the Stephen A. Smith Heckling Society of Gentlemen heckles him with a sock puppet dubbed as Stephen A. himself.

Tennis fans are also fairly noted for heckling. Some may call out during a service point to distract either player. Another common heckle from tennis fans is cheering after a service fault, which is considered to be rude and unsporting.

In 2009, then [[Toronto Blue Jays]] outfielder [[Alex Ríos]] was a victim of a heckling incident outside after a fund-raising event. The incident occurred after Ríos declined to sign an autograph for a young fan, the same day he went 0 for 5 with 5 [[strikeouts]] in a game against the [[Los Angeles Angels]]. An older man yelled "The way you played today Alex, you should be lucky someone wants your autograph." Ríos then replied with "Who gives a fuck", repeating it until being ushered into a vehicle. Ríos did apologize the next day,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/rios-apologizes-for-youtube-tirade-at-abusive-fan-1.849737 | work=CBC News | title=Rios apologizes for YouTube tirade at abusive fan | date=5 June 2009}}</ref> but was eventually placed on waivers and claimed by the [[Chicago White Sox]] later that year.

==Music==
[[Electric Dylan controversy|The heckling of Bob Dylan at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in 1966]] is one of the most famous examples in music history. During a quiet moment in between songs, an audience member shouts very loudly and clearly, "Judas!" referencing Dylan's so-called betrayal of folk music by "going electric". Dylan replied: "I don't believe you, you're a liar!" before telling his band to "Play it fucking loud!" They played an acidic version of "[[Like a Rolling Stone]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Glover|first=Tony|title=Bob Dylan Live 1966 Liner Notes|publisher=Columbia Records|year=1998|location=New York|page=7}}</ref> This incident was captured on tape and the full concert was released as volume four of Dylan's ''Live Bootleg Series''.

==Stand-up comedy==
{{Excessive citations|section|date=May 2025}}
In [[stand-up comedy]], a heckler is what separates the medium from theatre; at any time during the show (either indirectly or directly), a heckler may interrupt a comedian's set.<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Quirk
 |first=Sophie
 |date=2018
 |title=The Politics of British Stand-Up Comedy: The New Alternative
 |series=Palgrave Studies in Comedy
 |location=London, UK
 |publisher=palgrave macmillan
 |pages=83–84
 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-01105-5
 |isbn=978-3-030-01104-8
 |lccn=2018956867
 |quote=William Cook [states that] ... 'A heckle is the final arbiter between theatre and comedy. If you can heckle it, it's comedy. If you can't, it's theatre. The implicit understanding that allows the audience to pitch in on equal terms with the person behind the mike — a comedic right to bear arms — is the first article of comedy's unwritten constitution. It simply isn't sporting to hurl abuse at an actor, however much you might hate them, but a comedian is fair game. Heckling is what makes stand-up special, and without the capacity for an audience intervention, it would be reduced to a dull substitute for drama.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Quirk
 |first=Sophie
 |date=2015
 |title=Why Stand-up Matters: How Comedians Manipulate and Influence
 |location=New York
 |publisher=Bloomsbury Methuen Drama
 |page=143
 |isbn=978-1-4725-7893-8
 |quote=Stand-up is undeniably democratic to some extent. Few forms of art, or of performance, are held to so immediate and emphatic a measure of audience approval as stand-up, where the audience's appreciation needs to be demonstrated through their laughter and their disapproval can be communicated equally clearly through their silence or, more distinctly, through heckling.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book 
 |last=Dean 
 |first=Greg 
 |year=2000 
 |title=Step by Step to Stand-up Comedy 
 |location=Portsmouth, NH 
 |publisher=Heinemann 
 |page=188
 |isbn=0-325-00179-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last       = Brodie
| first      = Ian
| date       = 2008
| title      = Stand-up Comedy as a Genre of Intimacy
| url        = https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/019950ar
| journal    = Ethnologies
| publisher  = Cape Breton University
| volume     = 30
| issue      = 2
| page       = 161
| doi        = 10.7202/019950ar
| access-date = 15 September 2020
| quote      = Pauses, rhetorical questions, digressions, diversions, distractions, and long descriptive passages all are opportunities for the audience to react in an unanticipated manner and to shift (or pull) focus away from the performer. And the sheer act of projecting—talking loudly or shouting, one person talking against two hundred—negates much in the way of subtlety of intonation and the texture of performance.| doi-access= 
| url-access= subscription
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Thomas
| first = James M.
| date = 2015
| title = Laugh through it: Assembling difference in an American stand-up comedy club
| journal = Ethnography
| publisher = Sage Publications, Ltd.
| volume = 16
| issue = 2
| page = 177
| doi = 10.1177/1466138114534336
| jstor = 26359086
| s2cid = 144390090
| quote = On several occasions, I [the researcher] witnessed waitresses walk away from their tables visibly upset by their encounters with male customers. On one occasion, a customer at a table grabbed the behind of the waitress as she walked away, leading to management forcibly removing the customer}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=McConachie
 |first=Bruce
 |date=2008
 |title=Engaging Audiences: A Cognitive Approach to Spectating in the Theatre
 |publisher=palgrave macmillan
 |page=46
 |isbn=978-0-230-11673-3
 |quote=Although [Bert] States emphasizes the ways in which actors relate to audiences, he acknowledges that theatrical communication is always 'a two-way street.'}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last         = Cook
| first        = William
| date         = 9 June 2003
| title        = Audience participation
| url          = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2003/jun/09/comedy.williamcook
| work         = The Guardian
| edition      = US
| access-date  = 15 March 2021
| quote        = [H]eckling is an intrinsic part of stand-up comedy.}}</ref>{{overcite|date=April 2024}} Hecklers want the stand-up to break the [[fourth wall]].<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Borns
 |first=Betsy
 |year=1987
 |title=Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.
 |page=[https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/20 20]
 |isbn=0-671-62620-5
 |quote=An audience may imply (through heckling, interrupting, etc.) a desire for the comic to break down the fourth wall and 'join the crowd,' but experienced comedians know that this would only make the room more uncomfortable.
 |url=https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/20
 }}</ref> Most sources claim that heckling is uncommon.<ref name=parallel/><ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://www.sacmag.com/2018/12/12/how-about-those-hecklers/
 |title=How About Those Hecklers?
 |last=Cassinos-Carr
 |first=Cathy
 |date=12 December 2018
 |website=Sacramento Magazine
 |access-date=27 March 2019
 |quote=You see a lot of heckler videos go viral. But that's not because heckling happens a lot.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
 |last= Conway
 |first= Andrew
 |date= 11 December 1995
 |others=Collected by Robert Nelson, Scott Meltzer, Ngaio Bealum and Dave Gomez
 |title= You're Ugly, Your Dick Is Small, and Everybody Fucks Your Mother—The Stand-Up Comedian's Response to the Heckler
 |url= http://www.juggling.org/~conway/juggler/MAL.TXT 
 |format=Text
 |journal=Maledicta, the International Journal of Verbal Aggression
 |location=Santa Rosa, CA
 |publisher=Maledicta Press
 |volume= 11
 |isbn=978-0916500313
 |quote=In performances by comedians in the USA it is not uncommon for a member of the audience to interrupt the performance by shouting a comment.}}</ref> Heckling is more likely to occur at [[Renegade show|open stage]] performances and performances where alcoholic beverages are being consumed;<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Quirk
 |first=Sophie
 |date=2015
 |title=Why Stand-up Matters: How Comedians Manipulate and Influence
 |location=New York
 |publisher=Bloomsbury Methuen Drama
 |page=75
 |isbn=978-1-4725-7893-8
 |quote=A further feature that almost all stand-up comedy venues have in common is a licence to sell alcohol. Most comedians and promoters agree that running a successful gig without alcohol would be very difficult, if not impossible...Alcohol is usually not only offered to the audience, but its consumption actively encouraged.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Shouse
 |first=Eric
 |title=The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy
 |date=2020
 |chapter=Shit Talking and Ass Kicking: Heckling, Physical Violence and Realistic Death Threats in Stand-Up Comedy
 |editor1-last=Oppliger
 |editor1-first=Patrice A.
 |editor2-last=Shouse
 |editor2-first=Eric
 |series=Palgrave Studies in Comedy
 |url=http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14644
 |location=United Kingdom
 |publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland AG: Palgrave Macmillan
 |page=256
 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-37214-9_12
 |isbn=978-3-030-37213-2
 |s2cid=216523473
 |quote=[B]ecause stand-up comedy is performed almost exclusively in venues where alcohol is present, comedians rick physical harm before they even step on stage.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last= Seizer
| first= Susan
| date= 2011
| title= On the Uses of Obscenity in Live Stand-Up Comedy
| journal= Anthropological Quarterly
| publisher= The George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research
| volume= 84
| issue= 1
| pages= 212
| doi= 10.1353/anq.2011.0001
| jstor = 41237487
| s2cid= 144137009
| quote= Drunk audiences are…more prone to unpredictable outbursts, than sober audiences.}}</ref> it is regarded as a sign of audience members becoming impatient with what they regard as a low-quality performance.<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Murray
 |first=Logan
 |date=25 June 2010
 |title=Be A Great Stand-Up
 |edition=2nd
 |location=London, Great Britain
 |publisher=The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
 |page=159
 |isbn=978-1-444-10726-5
 |quote=[Heckling] usually only happens because of one of two reasons: either you have lost the interest of the audience or the heckler is an idiot.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Shouse
 |first=Eric
 |title=The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy
 |date=2020
 |chapter=Shit Talking and Ass Kicking: Heckling, Physical Violence and Realistic Death Threats in Stand-Up Comedy
 |editor1-last=Oppliger
 |editor1-first=Patrice A.
 |editor2-last=Shouse
 |editor2-first=Eric
 |series=Palgrave Studies in Comedy
 |url=http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14644
 |location=United Kingdom
 |publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland AG: Palgrave Macmillan
 |page=263
 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-37214-9_12
 |isbn=978-3-030-37213-2
 |s2cid=216523473
 |quote=When a stand-up comic fails to provide a compelling performance, people can become hostile.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| last         = Cook
| first        = William
| date         = 9 June 2003
| title        = Audience participation
| url          = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2003/jun/09/comedy.williamcook
| work         = The Guardian
| edition      = US
| access-date  = 15 March 2021
| quote        = Comedians act differently after midnight, and so do audiences. Audiences are a lot less respectful, comics are less keen to please, and the resultant humour is much more confrontational.}}</ref> New comics are often underprepared to handle hecklers properly.<ref name=parallel>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2004/aug/16/edinburgh04.edinburghfestival3
 |title=How can he show his face?
 |last=MacInnes
 |first=Paul
 |date=15 August 2004
 |website=The Guardian
 |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited
 |others=Logan Murray
 |access-date=22 March 2019
 |quote=For new comics, heckling is like parallel parking for new drivers, you need to know how to do it, but it doesn't happen very often.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Borns
 |first=Betsy
 |year=1987
 |title=Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.
 |page=[https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/136 136]
 |isbn=0-671-62620-5
 |quote=To develop this kind of heckler-deflecting skill takes years; like writing and timing, it is developed with the benefit of those lovable comic twins: time and pain.
 |url=https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/136
 }}</ref>

In addition, live comedy venues tend to discourage heckling via signage and admissions policy, but tend to tolerate it as it creates customer loyalty. The etiquette of exactly how much heckling is tolerated differs immensely from venue to venue, however, but is generally more likely to be tolerated in blue-collar or working-class venues.

Comedians generally dislike heckling.<ref>{{cite AV media
 | people =Sarah Silverman (interviewee)
 | year =2017
 | title =Dying Laughing
 | medium =Motion picture
 | language =en
 | time =40:44-41:10
 | publisher =Gravitas Ventures
 | quote =I don't like hecklers, but I'm fascinated by them, and you know, I don't have like bits for hecklers, but I just love going in and talking to—giving them the attention that they need so badly and talking about it, you know, and where that comes from and how can I help you. How can I make you feel good about yourself?}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media
 | people = Billy Connolly (interviewee)
 | year =2017
 | title =Dying Laughing
 | medium =Motion picture
 | language =en
 | time =34:20-34:33
 | publisher =Gravitas Ventures
 | quote =I can never hear what a heckler is saying. I just respond wildly to them. And they might be saying, oh Billy, I love you—I say, shut the fuck up! I don't really like them as a species.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.pattonoswalt.com/index.cfm?page=spew&id=167
 |title=A Closed Letter to Myself About Thievery, Heckling and Rape Jokes: Heckling
 |last=Oswalt
 |first=Patton
 |date=14 June 2014
 |website=Patton Oswalt
 |access-date=3 February 2019
 |quote=Hecklers don't make a show memorable. They prevent a show from being a fucking show. Comedians do not love hecklers.
 |archive-date=4 March 2019
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304155758/http://www.pattonoswalt.com/index.cfm?page=spew&id=167
 |url-status=dead
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media
 | people =Billy Connolly
 | year =2011
 | title =The Art of Stand-Up
 | medium =TV
 | language =en
 | location =United Kingdom
 | time = 40:18-40:44
 | publisher =BBC: One
 | quote =I loathe hecklers. I haven't one good syllable to say about hecklers. When you've come out of the club circuit and all that and you're in the concert hall...they should be gone.
 | editor=Alan Yentob}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/08/how-to-deal-with-hecklers-according-to-nine-top-st.html
 |title=How to Deal With Hecklers: Tips From Nine Top Stand-up Comics
 |last=Fernandez
 |first=Jesse
 |date=29 August 2016
 |website=Paste
 |publisher=Paste Media Group.
 |access-date=23 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://westsidetoastmasters.com/article_reference/handling_hecklers.html
 |title=Handling the Heckler
 |website=Toastmasters International
 |access-date=23 March 2019
 |quote=I asked some fellow comedians what they thought about hecklers. As you might imagine, it was tough to get a straight answer:}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Murray
 |first=Logan
 |date=25 June 2010
 |title=Be A Great Stand-Up
 |edition=2nd
 |location=London, Great Britain
 |publisher=The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
 |others=Pat Condell
 |page=177
 |isbn=978-1-444-10726-5
 |quote=I've never met a heckler I didn't want to punch in the face.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Zoglin
 |first=Richard
 |date=22 January 2008
 |title=Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the '70s Changed America
 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xtCmCAAAQBAJ&q=%22comedy+at+the+edge%22+%22fork%22&pg=PA46
 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA
 |page=46
 |isbn=978-1582346243
 |quote=Even in the Café Wha? days, Roth remembers seeing Pryor get so enraged at a heckler that he stabbed the guy with a fork.}}</ref>{{overcite|date=April 2024}} Hecklers may rarely threaten or physically assault comedians.<ref>{{cite AV media
 | people = Billy Connolly (interviewee)
 | year =2017
 | title =Dying Laughing
 | medium =Motion picture
 | language =en
 | time =38:13-38:17
 | publisher =Gravitas Ventures
 | quote =There's a guy [who] punched me onstage.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Borns
 |first=Betsy
 |year=1987
 |title=Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.
 |page=[https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/134 134]
 |isbn=0-671-62620-5
 |quote=Generally, however, any comic's physical encounters onstage can be counted on one hand—more often, one finger…Insults about appearance are almost exclusively aimed at women [comics].
 |url=https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/134
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 | last         = Perrett
 | first        = Connor
 | date         = 22 July 2019
 | title        = Stand-Up Comedian Says He Was Punched By A Trump Supporter For Telling A Joke About The President
 | url          = https://www.inquisitr.com/5543688/stand-up-comedian-says-he-was-punched-by-a-trump-supporter-for-telling-a-joke-about-the-president/
 | work         = The Inquisitr
 | access-date  = 14 August 2019
 | quote        = Following Fontenot's quip, the man reportedly stormed the stage and punched the comedian in the face, causing him to lose consciousness.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Borns
 |first=Betsy
 |year=1987
 |title=Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.
 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/133 133-134]
 |isbn=0-671-62620-5
 |quote=Alan Harvey was once stabbed with a pencil by a crazed female patron. [[Tom Dreesen]] remembers, in the days when he was part of a double act with [[Tim Reid]]...'One night, one drunk walked by, put a lit cigarette out in Tom's face...He says that cmics are particularly vulnerable up there because the light is directly in their faces, so they can't see where a potential attacker is coming from. Jonathan Solomon says that he was once attacked by a drunk man...and nobody came onstage to help...another time...in Washington, a man threw a drink at him onstage.
 |url=https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/133
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/theatreblog/2010/aug/24/heckling-comedy-goes-bad
 |title=When heckling goes bad
 |last=Kettle
 |first=James
 |date=24 August 2010
 |website=The Guardian
 |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited
 |access-date=23 March 2019
 |quote= There are numerous stories of comics being attacked by audience members – in fact YouTube footage exists of one of the biggest draws at this year's fringe, Australian comic Jim Jeffries, being punched in the head onstage at the Manchester Comedy Store.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-br-manchester-heckler-arrest-20190225-kqy6c7lwmncmlcsxdfaw3t7pve-story.html
 |title=Police say heckler pulled knife, threatened comedian at Manchester club
 |last= Leavenworth
 |first=Jesse
 |date=25 February 2019
 |website=Hartford Courant
 |access-date=27 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-46382267
 |title=Heckling: How to deal with it during a comedy show
 |last= McGregor
 |first=Nesta
 |date=29 November 2018
 |website=BBC News
 |publisher=BBC
 |others=Ian Smith
 |access-date=27 March 2019
 |quote=Ian says while the crowd saw the funny side of the gag, the man had to be restrained by his friends—before later being escorted out of the venue.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 | last         = Zinoman
 | first        = Jason 
 | date         = 17 July 2012
 | title        = Toe-to-Toe at the Edge of the Comedy Club Stage
 | url          = https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/18/arts/television/when-the-comic-and-the-heckler-both-take-offense.html
 |url-access = limited
 | work         = The New York Times
 | access-date  = 15 June 2019
 |quote = [A] heckler ended an exchange with Tammy Pescatelli, a veteran comic, by tossing a wine glass at her at a club in Jacksonville, Fla., scratching her cornea.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 | author       =<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
 | date         = 26 July 2012
 | title        = Woman May Sue Comedian Eddie Griffin Over Pleasanton Heckling
 | url          = https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2012/07/26/woman-may-sue-comedian-eddie-griffin-over-pleasanton-heckling/
 | work         = CBS SF BayArea
 |location = San Francisco
 | publisher  = CBS Broadcasting Inc.
 | access-date  = 15 June 2019
 |quote =It was a chaotic scene as a woman throws her drink at Griffin at Tommy T's. Fiona Walshe said she was taunted by Griffin for being a lesbian.}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media
 | people =Bobby Lee (comedian), Michael Addis (director)
 | year =2007
 | title =Heckler
 | language =en
 | time =8:12-9:00
 | publisher =FilmRise
 | quote =I was onstage in New Mexico and some kid was going—just halfway through a punchline I hear—ching, ching, ching chong ching, ching chong ching chong, ching ching chong. This was a ''really'' dark, Mexican guy. So then I just basically went, '[variation of ándale]—hey, I'm digging a ditch,' you know (laughs to camera), 'I'm a ditch-digger.' Then, all of the sudden, through my peripheral I see him climbing onto the stage. So I keep going, then all of the sudden, like, I black out. I'm literally like, on the stage, laying there. He had punched me (pause) in the face.}}</ref>{{overcite|date=April 2024}} Even more rarely, comedians may receive death threats.<ref>{{cite news
 | last         = Hofstetter
 | first        = Steve
 | date         = 18 July 2019
 | title        = A Comedian's Guide To Handling Nazi Death Threats
 | url          = https://www.cjnews.com/perspectives/opinions/a-comedians-guide-to-handling-nazi-death-threats
 | work         = The Canadian Jewish News
 | access-date  = 19 July 2019
 |quote         = I received 252 death threats, both direct and indirect [that I reported to the FBI]...I [talked] with one of the agents, who let me know that some of the folks that were threatening me were career criminals.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
 | author       = <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->
 | date         = 24 March 2019
 | title        = Kathy Griffin on receiving death threats
 | url          = https://www.cbsnews.com/video/kathy-griffin-on-receiving-death-threats/
 | work         = CBS News
 | access-date  = 19 July 2019
 |quote         = On the day that I filmed...two FBI agents come in...they told me that they had [knowledge of] an imminent threat, [[October 2018 United States mail bombing attempts|Cesar Sayoc]] had shared his list with like-minded people}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
|year=2006
|chapter=Good Advice: Dave Coulier
|editor1-last=Shydner
|editor1-first=Ritch
|editor2-last=Schiff
|editor2-first=Mark
|title=I Killed: True Stories of the Road From America's Top Comics
|url=http://www.standupstories.com
|url-status=dead
|others=[[Dave Coulier]]
|edition=First Paperback
|location=New York
|publisher=Three Rivers Press
|page=18
|isbn=978-0-307-38229-0
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501193623/http://www.standupstories.com/
|archive-date=1 May 2012
|access-date=31 March 2020
|quote=A heckler lost an exchange with me and threatened me with a gun. As they pulled him away he was still waving the gun and shouting,'I'm gonna shoot your ass.'
}}</ref>

===Countering===
Comedians counter hecklers by controlling the flow of conversation.<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Brodie
 |first=Ian
 |date=2014
 |chapter=Stand-Up Comedy and a Folkloristic Approach
 |title=A Vulgar Art: A New Approach to Stand-up Comedy
 |location=Jackson
 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi
 |page=32
 |isbn=978-1-62846-182-4
 |quote=All writers on stand-up comedy, without exception, specifically emphasize that a stand-up comedian is on a stage talking with an audience. Stand-up comedy is neither a series of narratives nor a series of jokes: it is a form of small talk}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Borns
 |first=Betsy
 |year=1987
 |title=Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.
 |page=[https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/136 136]
 |isbn=0-671-62620-5
 |quote=[[Adrianne Tolsch]] says that, like stand-up in general, the key to dealing with hecklers is to remember, 'it's all about control…it's not what you say, it's how fast and forcefully you say it'
 |url=https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/136
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last        = Brodie
| first       = Ian
| date        = 2008
| title       = Stand-up Comedy as a Genre of Intimacy
| url         = https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/019950ar
| journal     = Ethnologies
| publisher   = Cape Breton University
| volume      = 30
| issue       = 2
| page        = 161
| doi         = 10.7202/019950ar
| access-date = 15 September 2020
| quote       = The microphone helps to create the illusion of a small group discussion irrespective of the group's actual size…to qualify this, during the British alternative comedy movement of the late 1970s and early 1980s, a form of comedy emerged within a punk aesthetic in reaction to both an Oxbridge-centered intellectual comic tradition and working-class pub comedy (which was known for its prevalent sexism and racism). As befits its anarchic roots, the audience was notoriously antagonistic, particularly at the [[The Comedy Store (London)|Comedy Store club]] around which the movement was centered. Despite access to a microphone, [[Ben Elton]] developed a performance style in which he would not pause: 'He realised that if you stand there, shouting, and without putting any pauses in, even pauses for laughter, then the chances of being heckled or being abused by the audience were reduced. So that's where he got his style from, to rant' (Andy de La Tour, in Wright 1999).| doi-access= 
| url-access= subscription
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last1=Noland
 |first1=Carey Marie
 |last2=Hoppmann
 |first2=Michael
 |title=The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy
 |series=Palgrave Studies in Comedy
 |date=2020
 |chapter=Stop! You're Killing Me: Food Addiction and Comedy
 |editor1-last=Oppliger
 |editor1-first=Patrice A.
 |editor2-last=Shouse
 |editor2-first=Eric
 |url=http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14644
 |location=United Kingdom
 |publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland AG: Palgrave Macmillan
 |page=137
 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-37214-9_7
 |isbn=978-3-030-37213-2
 |s2cid=216331924
 |quote=To become successful[,] comedians must possess…the ability to estimate correctly audience reactions to deviant speech and behavior.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last1=Mears
 |first1=Kathryn
 |last2=Eric
 |first2=Shouse
 |last3=Patrice A.
 |first3=Oppliger
 |title=The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy
 |series=Palgrave Studies in Comedy
 |date=2020
 |chapter=An Incongruous Blend of Tragedy and Comedy: How Maria Bamford Lightens the Dark Side of Mental Illness
 |editor1-last=Oppliger
 |editor1-first=Patrice A.
 |editor2-last=Shouse
 |editor2-first=Eric
 |url=http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14644
 |location=United Kingdom
 |publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland AG: Palgrave Macmillan
 |page=181
 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-37214-9_9
 |isbn=978-3-030-37213-2
 |s2cid=216265736
 |quote=Although comics rarely use the term '[[Psychological manipulation|manipulation]],' when Eyre describes [Maria] Bamford as a 'strong performer,' he means that she possesses the ability to manipulate an audience. Comedians typically refer to this manipulation 'in terms such as '[[craft]],' '[[skill]],' and 'technique'}}</ref>{{overcite|date=April 2024}} A comedian cannot completely ignore a heckler without undermining the performance.<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Double
 |first=Oliver
 |date=2014
 |orig-year=2005
 |title=Getting the Joke: the inner workings of stand-up comedy
 |edition=2nd
 |location=New York
 |publisher=Bloomsbury Methuen Drama
 |page=341
 |isbn=978-1-4081-7460-9
 |quote=Dealing with a heckler is a test of the comedian's ability. To ignore it is to seriously undermine the audience's faith, and if the comic ploughs on relentlessly with material rather than responding, the illusion of spontaneity is broken.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://mentalfloss.com/article/54496/11-ways-handle-heckler
 |title=11 Ways to Handle a Heckler
 |last=Patrick
 |first=Colin
 |date=13 January 2014
 |website=Mental Floss
 |publisher=minute media
 |access-date=22 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-46382267
 |title=Heckling: How to deal with it during a comedy show
 |last= McGregor
 |first=Nesta
 |date=29 November 2018
 |website=BBC News
 |publisher=BBC
 |others=Ian Smith
 |access-date=27 March 2019
 |quote=I sometimes try to ignore them because it might be the attention that they're after.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Borns
 |first=Betsy
 |year=1987
 |title=Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.
 |page=[https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/135 135]
 |isbn=0-671-62620-5
 |quote=Carol [Siskind] says, she acts as she does in any heckling episode: 'I try to ignore them [at first]…or I state my position right away.
 |url=https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/135
 }}</ref> Comedians devise a strategy for quashing such outbursts, usually by having a repertoire of [[insult|comebacks]] for hecklers<ref>{{cite journal
 |last=Conway
 |first=Andrew
 |date=11 December 1995
 |others=Collected by Robert Nelson, Scott Meltzer, Ngaio Bealum and Dave Gomez
 |title=You're Ugly, Your Dick Is Small, and Everybody Fucks Your Mother—The Stand-Up Comedian's Response to the Heckler
 |url=http://www.juggling.org/~conway/juggler/MAL.TXT 
 |format=Text
 |journal=Maledicta, the International Journal of Verbal Aggression
 |location=Santa Rosa, CA
 |publisher=Maledicta Press
 |volume=11
 |isbn=978-0916500313
 |quote=The comedian's response to the heckler is called a 'heckler line'...A successful comedian will usually have a large repertoire of lines, and will attempt to choose one that fits the situation, as this will make the response appear to be improvised.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book 
 |last1=Frances-White 
 |first1=Deborah 
 |last2=Shandur 
 |first2=Marsha 
 |year=2016 
 |title=Off the Mic: The World's Best Stand-up Comedians Get Serious About Comedy 
 |others=Jim Jefferies 
 |location=NY, New York 
 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc 
 |pages=230–231 
 |isbn=978-1-4725-2638-0 
 |quote=I have a list of three or four [comebacks]...and the rest will be off the cuff}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Borns
 |first=Betsy
 |year=1987
 |title=Comic Lives: Inside the World of American Stand-up comedy
 |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc.
 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/135 135-136]
 |isbn=0-671-62620-5
 |quote=Like all comics, [Carol Siskind's] responses to hecklers are usually not ad-libs, but cold, calculated antidotes
 |url=https://archive.org/details/comiclivesinside00born/page/135
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Wilde
 |first=Larry
 |year=2000
 |orig-year=1968
 |chapter=Dick Gregory
 |title=Great Comedians Talk About Comedy
 |publisher=Executive Books
 |others=[[Dick Gregory]]
 |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
 |page=255
 |isbn=0-937539-51-1
 |quote=[Dick Gregory:] Of course, later on I found funny ways to overcome problems. If a man yelled 'nigger' up at me I would say very politely, 'According to my contract, the management pays me fifty dollars every time someone calls me that. Please do it again.'}}</ref>—known as ''savers'', ''heckler lines'', ''squelchers'', or ''[[wikt:squelch|squelches]]''<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Wilde
 |first=Larry
 |year=2000
 |orig-year=1968
 |chapter=Milton Berle
 |title=Great Comedians Talk About Comedy
 |publisher=Executive Books
 |others=[[Milton Berle]]
 |location=Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
 |page=67
 |isbn=0-937539-51-1
 |quote=[Milton Berle:] what has become standard now as 'savers' or 'heckler squelchers' started as ad-libs.}}</ref>—on hand; those who handle the moment in an off-the-cuff manner do so by giving the heckler "enough rope to hang themselves".<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Murray
 |first=Logan
 |date=25 June 2010
 |title=Be A Great Stand-Up
 |edition=2nd
 |location=London, Great Britain
 |publisher=The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
 |page=165,174
 |isbn=978-1-444-10726-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Apatow
 |first=Judd
 |others=Jay Leno
 |year=2016
 |title=Sick In The Head
 |location=NY
 |publisher=Random House
 |page=162
 |isbn=978-0-8129-8728-7
 |quote=[G]ive them enough rope so they hang themselves}}</ref> [[Stewart Lee]] treats heckles as genuine inquiries.<ref>{{cite AV media
 | people=Stewart Lee (interviewee)
 | year=2017
 | title=Dying Laughing
 | medium =Motion picture
 | language=en
 | time=41:10-41:50
 | publisher=Gravitas Ventures
 | quote=Another...way of controlling a room, which again can lead to fantastic deaths but really enjoyable ones, is to treat abusive heckles as if they were genuine inquiries…and actually to answer them at such length that the people regret having asked the question in the first place.}}</ref><ref>{{cite podcast
 | url=https://www.comedianscomedian.com/200-stewart-lee/ 
 | title=The Comedian's Comedian with Stuart Goldsmith: 200 Stewart Lee
 | others=Stewart Lee
 | website=The Comedian's Comedian
 | publisher=Stuart Goldsmith
 | host=Stuart Goldsmith
 | date=6 March 2017
 | time=18:30-18:55
 | access-date=13 February 2019
 | quote=I try to treat all heckles as a genuine inquiry…and I know where I've got that from. It's from one recording[, a track called ''Life on the Road'',] of [[Ted Chippington]]['s album, ''Man in a Suitcase'']}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last1=Frances-White
 |first1=Deborah
 |last2=Shandur
 |first2=Marsha
 |year=2016
 |title=Off the Mic: The World's Best Stand-up Comedians Get Serious About Comedy
 |others=Stewart Lee
 |location=NY, New York
 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
 |page=160
 |isbn=978-1-4725-2638-0
 |quote=I treat it [the heckle] like it's an honest inquiry.}}</ref> [[Jerry Seinfeld]] is a "Heckle Therapist", who verbally sympathizes with the heckler to confuse the heckler and win the audience over.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/become-standup-comedian-2468/
 |title=How to Become a Standup Comedian
 |last= Lindsay
 |first=Benjamin
 |date=8 January 2018
 |website=backstage
 |access-date=22 March 2019
 |quote=[Jerry Seinfeld is a] Heckle Therapist...when people would say something nasty...[he] would...become...sympathetic to them and try to help them with their problem...to work out what was upsetting them, and try to be...understanding with their anger…[he] would counsel the heckler...'You seem so upset, and I know that's not what you wanted to have happen tonight. Let's talk about your problem,' and the audience...[found] it funny and it would [confuse the heckler]}}</ref> Some comedians will get hecklers to repeat themselves to take away the momentum and laughter from the heckle.<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Durham
 |first=Rob
 |year=2011
 |title=Don't Wear Shorts on Stage: the stand-up guide to comedy
 |location=Middletown, DE
 |page=57
 |isbn=9781468004847
 |quote=[When asked to repeat what they said], the heckler will freeze up...[or if they do repeat it], it won't have as much steam.}}</ref> [[Phyllis Diller]] would have her light technician shine a spotlight on hecklers to make them feel intimidated.<ref>{{cite book
|year=2006
|chapter=Good Advice: Phyllis Diller
|editor1-last=Shydner
|editor1-first=Ritch
|editor2-last=Schiff
|editor2-first=Mark
|title=I Killed: True Stories of the Road From America's Top Comics
|url=http://www.standupstories.com
|url-status=dead
|others=Phyllis Diller
|edition=First Paperback
|location=New York
|publisher=Three Rivers Press
|page=18
|isbn=978-0-307-38229-0
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501193623/http://www.standupstories.com/
|archive-date=1 May 2012
|access-date=31 March 2020
|quote=I [Diller] always told my tech guy to put the spotlight on any hecklers. They're only brave because of the anonymity of yelling at you from the darkness. Once you hit them with a light, the heckler loses all his power.
}}</ref>

Magician [[Teller_(magician)|Teller]] established his persona of never speaking while performing to minimize heckling.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

===Controversies===
[[Bill Burr]]'s ''Philadelphia Incident'' was performed in Camden, New Jersey, where he reprimanded an audience of over ten thousand people.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.phillyvoice.com/comedian-bill-burr-explains-his-epic-philly-rant-2006-show/
 |title=Comedian Bill Burr explains his epically profane 'Philly rant' at '06 show
 |last=Tanenbaum
 |first=Michael
 |date=30 November 2017
 |website=Philly Voice
 |publisher=WWB Holdings, LLC. 
 |access-date=27 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last=Shouse
 |first=Eric
 |title=The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy
 |date=2020
 |chapter=Person, Persona, and Act: The Dark and Light Sides of George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Robin Williams
 |editor1-last=Oppliger
 |editor1-first=Patrice A.
 |editor2-last=Shouse
 |editor2-first=Eric
 |series=Palgrave Studies in Comedy
 |url=http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14644
 |location=United Kingdom
 |publisher=Springer Nature Switzerland AG: Palgrave Macmillan
 |page=46
 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-37214-9_2
 |isbn=978-3-030-37213-2
 |s2cid=216341557
 |quote=Although it is known as the 'Philadelphia Incident,' the performance technically took place across the river at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey.}}</ref> [[Michael Richards]] became upset with hecklers and called them the N-word several times.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://www.wweek.com/bump/2016/11/29/the-day-the-clown-cried-pinpointing-the-single-destructive-moments-that-disgraced-famous-comedians-careers/
 |title=The Single Destructive Moments That Disgraced Famous Comedians' Careers
 |date=29 November 2016
 |website=Willamette Week
 |access-date=27 March 2019
 |quote=17 Nov. 2006: Michael Richards goes on a racist rant at the Laugh Factory in L.A. }}</ref> When a female audience member claimed that rape jokes are never funny, [[Daniel Tosh]] allegedly made an off-the-cuff retort that it would be funny if she were to be immediately raped.<ref>{{cite news
| last         = Holpunch
| first        = Amanda
| date         = 11 July 2012
| title        = Daniel Tosh apologises for rape joke as fellow comedians defend topic
| url          = https://www.theguardian.com/culture/us-news-blog/2012/jul/11/daniel-tosh-apologises-rape-joke
| work         = The Guardian
| publisher    = Guardian News & Media Limited
| access-date  = 15 June 2019
|quote = In a blog entry posted on Tumblr, an audience member wrote that after Tosh told a series of jokes proclaiming that rape is always funny, she called out 'Actually, rape jokes are never funny!' To which she claims Tosh replied: 'Wouldn't it be funny if that girl got raped by like, five guys right now? Like right now? What if a bunch of guys just raped her'}}</ref>

==Movies and musicals ==
Screenings of [[The Rocky Horror Picture Show]] (as well as performances of [[The Rocky Horror Show]]) are continuously heckled by the audience by use of so-called ''callbacks'' or ''call backs''. The funny and bold comments are sometimes 'traditional', that is, developed over decades including downloadable 'audience participation' heckling scripts.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.reddit.com/r/rhps/comments/gd9sh/reminder_the_ultimate_rocky_horror_callback/|title= Reminder: The ultimate Rocky Horror Callback Script is online for ANYONE to edit. Go add your lines! |website= Reddit|date= 28 March 2011 |language=en |access-date=2024-04-04}}</ref> Many callbacks are spontaneous, regional and develop into heckling fights amongst the audience members or with either professional musical actors or audience members who perform the show in front of the screen.

==Other comedy mediums==
The comedy TV series ''[[The Muppet Show]]'' featured a pair of hecklers named [[Statler and Waldorf]]. These characters created a kind of meta-comedy act in which the show's official comedian, [[Fozzie Bear]], acted as their usual [[Double act|foil]], although they occasionally made jokes at other characters as well.

Another notable use of heckling in comedy is in the cult favorite series ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''. The series involves a man (either Joel Robinson, Mike Nelson or [[Jonah Heston]]) and two robots (Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot) sitting in a theater mocking bad B-movies. This style of comedy, coined as riffing, is continued with commentary-based series such as [[RiffTrax]] and [[Cinematic Titanic]].

In one of [[Rowan Atkinson]]'s plays, ''The School Master'', a heckler interrupted his play by shouting "Here!" after Atkinson had read out an amusing name on his register. Atkinson incorporated it into his act by saying "I have a detention book..."<ref>{{cite episode
| title        = Headmaster
| series       = The Secret Policeman's Ball
| url          = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWJ7bhKYsuw
| last         = Atkinson 
| first        = Rowan
| author-link  = Rowan Atkinson
| date         = 27–30 June 1979
| minutes      = 0:54}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Applause]]
*[[Audience participation]]
*[[Booing]]
*[[Internet troll]]
*''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]'', a TV show built on humorous heckling

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Censorship}}

[[Category:Human communication]]
[[Category:Comedy]]
[[Category:Show business terms]]
[[Category:Stand-up comedy]]