Comedy Club Owner Will Press Charges Against Pro-Trump Heckler Who Threw Beer Can At Comedian Ariel Elias
Oct. 11 2022, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
The owner of a comedy club, whose facility is at the center of a hot debate on self-control and extremism, has announced that charges will be filed against an audience member’s husband who threw a beer can at comedian Ariel Elias during her stand-up set over alleged pro-Biden jokes, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Dino Ibelli is the owner of Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, where Elias was performing at the time of the incident.
Ibelli has revealed that he will be pressing charges against the pro-Trump heckler who threw the alcoholic beverage at Elias after his wife disrupted her set. The unidentified man fled the club after throwing his drink, which nearly missed the comedian.
What started as a routine night for stand-up, ended in a career-defining moment.
During Elias’ set, a woman from the crowd began to heckle the comedian over what she alleged were "pro-Biden" jokes.
After the female shouted at Elias, asking the comedian who she voted for, the joke teller responded, “Did I vote for Donald Trump? What do you think?”
The audience member shouted back: “No.”
Elias then flipped the script on the heckler, proposing why she would ask such a question. “OK. Here's a question for you: why would you ask me that in here, knowing I'm the only Jew in this room? Are you trying to get me killed?" she asked the outspoken viewer.
The comedian continued her remarks, exclaiming to the New Jersey audience, “I vote in New York, my vote doesn't matter there.”
During the exchange, which was caught on video and shared by Elias on Twitter, a man from the audience can be heard responding, “It doesn't matter here either.”
“It doesn't matter — guys, everybody vote for whoever you want to vote, I don't care who you voted for, I'm just happy we're all here together,” the comedian told the crowd in an attempt to move on from the situation.
“So you voted for Biden,” the relentless audience member shouted, dismissing the entertainer’s cue that the conversation was over.
Giving in to the heckler’s question, a clearly over-it Elias responded, “'I dunno, why does it matter?”
“I could just tell by your jokes, you voted for Biden,” the woman yelled back.
In a veteran comic fashion, Elias responded to the woman, who had taken up far too much time from her set, “Alright. I can tell by the fact that you're still talking when nobody wants you to that you voted for Trump.”
The audience member did not appreciate Elias’ tone — although she had started the entire fiasco — and shouted out, “So rude! Telling me to stop talking! No one was telling me to stop.”
It was then that a turning point in the already awkward exchange took place. Elias, once again attempting to move on with her set, called for the audience to make some noise if they wanted the heckler to stop talking. The room cheered loudly.
After the clapping ceased, Elias was in the middle of a sentence when an alcoholic beverage flew from the audience and nearly missed her on stage. Ducking, the beer can crashed into the wall behind her.
Nonetheless, Elias then picked up the can and chugged the remaining contents, which drew applause from the crowd.
“She was a pro about it to pick up the can and start drinking from it,” remarked the club owner, who has since turned over security footage to Pleasant Beach Police.
“When I bent down to pick up the can, I realized there was still some left in there, I think my only move here is to down it,” recalled the comedian on her ability to stay collected throughout the ordeal, adding that she “needed a drink more” than ever.
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