Top 10 Times Comedians Destroyed Hecklers

Most people know Steve Harvey as the outrageous host of “Family Feud,” but he has been performing stand-up comedy since 1985. And as it turns out, he is quite adept at one of the profession’s more challenging obstacles. Harvey served as the master of ceremonies in Spike Lee’s “The Original Kings of Comedy” and absolutely let rip on various audience members who decided to leave in the middle of his set. He decides to both steal and wear one of their coats, and when they return, Harvey digs into the wearer’s seemingly-questionable profession of “computer technology.” The allegations are very thinly-veiled, but Boogie takes it all in stride.

Serving as the highest-grossing stand-up comedian of 2012, Michael McIntyre is well known for his work on “Britain’s Got Talent” and the BBC One’s “Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow.” During one performance, McIntyre claimed that you “don’t [mess] with a Scot” owing to their “scary accent,” resulting in a Scottish man yelling from the audience. This prompts McIntyre to launch into a four-minute-long joke about Scottish people and their culture. Some of the best bits include McIntyre’s convincing Scottish accent and a hilarious go at Scottish money (which you’ll find is legal tender, by the way!). It’s so funny and smooth that it seems like a scripted bit, not an off-the-cuff response to a heckler.

Never have a go at Russell Brand. Not because you will be insulted, but because you’ll be subjected to a sit-down discussion, like Brand is your disappointed father. And that’s even worse than being insulted. During his “Re:Birth” tour, Brand was called a racist by someone in the audience. This prompted Brand to literally pull up a chair and briefly discuss elements of racism and identity in wider America and the issue with baseless accusations. By the end, the heckler proclaims their love for Brand and Brand returns the favor, flipping him a thumbs up in the process. He even calls the heckler a “good boy,” further proving that Brand is everyone’s disappointed dad.

There are two elements that make up a great heckler comeback: comedic timing and word choice. Comedian Bryson Turner nailed them both. Turner is interrupted by a woman in the audience, who claims that the first time he had sex was “yesterday.” It’s actually quite funny in context, and the audience shares a good, long laugh at Turner’s expense. Like a shark, Turner simply stands there and lets them laugh, waiting for his opportunity to strike. And then he let loose with three simple words that had the audience laughing even louder. And the best part about it? The woman can be heard apologizing right before Turner lets her have it.

While on his Comedy Camisado Tour in Delaware, Hannibal Buress was interrupted by a heckler. Buress asks why they can’t hold their liquor before launching into a brutal three-minute-long diatribe. He begins with an especially fierce shot at the heckler and it only gets worse from there. He also rightfully points out that the heckler isn’t even appearing on camera, so their “need for attention” has been totally invalidated. And therein lies the differences in hecklers. Some do it for the fun. Others for the attention. And those are the worst kinds of hecklers.

This English comedian is world-renowned for his dark humor and merciless wit, so heckling him is the last thing you want to do. Unfortunately, people just don’t seem to get this. Carr has a long history of putting down hecklers in exceedingly brutal ways. Not afraid to throw around offensive names, he’s made fun of Toby’s mother and called someone the dumbest person in Glasgow (to the hilarious agreement of his wife). It’s definitely a part of Carr’s show, as he openly welcomes hecklers. But they always look a little put down and hurt afterward. Almost as if they asked for it…

Known primarily for his Comedy Central program “Tosh.0” (Tosh point oh), Daniel Tosh operates much like Jimmy Carr through his intentionally offensive and caustic style of humor. While performing on stage, Tosh becomes distracted by two drunk men in the front and asks them to stop. When they don’t, Tosh reaches into the audience and takes their drink. He proceeds to have them kicked out and places two other audience members in their seats. What makes this one so great isn’t Tosh’s funny comebacks, as there really aren’t any. He just seems legitimately pissed off and isn’t afraid to let them know it.

Before sadly passing away in 2010, Greg Giraldo became famous for his work on Comedy Central’s hilarious roast specials. While performing a stand-up bit on jello, someone in the audience tells Giraldo to avoid Utah’s jello - whatever that means. Giraldo goes off on the ridiculous and nonsensical piece of advice for two minutes, and he somehow manages to make the subject of jello absolutely hilarious. It takes a special kind of comedian to make such a weird subject so captivating, but Giraldo was just such a comedian. But seriously, we want an answer. What’s wrong with Utah’s jello!?

World-renowned for her unique approach to comedy, Joan Rivers was yet another comedienne with a coarse wit and a very un-PC style of humor. This is perhaps most evident in her stand-up, a glorious piece of which appeared in the 2010 documentary “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.” Rivers makes a joke about Helen Keller, which a man in the audience really didn’t care for. Rivers in turn didn’t care for his interjection, resulting in a truly hostile and confrontational yelling match between the two. Let’s just say that the word “stupid” gets brought up more than once. It’s like watching your parents fight - all you can do is sit there in awkward silence.

Often regarded as the greatest and most influential stand-up comedian of all time, Richard Pryor captivated the world throughout the ‘70s and early ‘80s with his enjoyable storytelling, hilarious cultural observations, and endless profanity. He was also incredibly fast and utterly commanding of an audience, as evident in his special “Here and Now.” Pryor is repeatedly interrupted by hecklers, but Pryor handles them all with incredible grace and maturity. Yeah, he lets rip with a fierce joke or two, but he doesn’t spend minutes ragging on the heckler, their looks, or their behavior. He shows incredible composure, humility, and command, proving that the best thing you can do against a troll is just to ignore them.