Ever been at a stand-up comedy show and had an overwhelming, volatile urge to shout your thoughts and feelings at the person on stage? Do you control yourself? Or do you have to spew?
While some comedians thrive on hitting back at hecklers, others, like The Goldbergs’ Patton Oswalt, claim hacked-off audience members are responsible for ‘preventing a show from being a f***ing show’.
Sometimes, hecklers can be pretty damn rude, often resulting in comedians being forced to kick them out, as Peter Kay did last year in Manchester.
But on other occasions - like the one recently experienced by Rebecca Reingold - they can be a little bit charming.
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On 11 March, the New York City-based stand-up comic uploaded a video to Instagram captioned ‘We found love in a hopeless place (a comedy club)’.
As of today, the clip has amassed more than 15.5 million views, with hundreds of social media users commenting on the so-called ‘unexpected response’ she gave to the flirting baiter.
“I don’t know how to flirt, I was never good at it,” she claimed. “I’m so mean to men but I don’t mean to - I think they like it.”
During the set, she addressed a family in the crowd, claiming they were ‘so f***ing loud’ that she ‘couldn’t even hear’ herself speak.
One of the men in the group could be heard saying that he was with his parents at the show, to which Reingold said: “You look bad. Your parents look a lot younger than you.”
A little later, the comic claimed: “He’s flirting with me while I’m on stage”.
This prompted the faceless man to claim that, by the woman’s logic, she was only being mean to him because she liked him.
“Oh yeah, you’re right! That does mean I like you! You were listening. Oh my god, I’m in love.
“You’re so annoying but so loveable so its so tough, you know what I mean?”
Viewers have been praising Reingold for how ‘funny’ her flow was, while others have claimed she handled the male heckler ‘so well’.
“Damn she really turned red when she realised he listened,” replied someone else.
Another said: “I would like for you to be mean to me. Say next Friday over some darts and beer?”
A fellow Instagram user referred to the TV sitcom How I Met Your Mother by writing: “… and, that is how I met your mother.”
“The fact that he did not drop the ‘I’ll shut up in exchange for your number’ line is mind boggling to me,” replied a fourth.
Expert on why we are mean to people we love
According to Sally Baker, a senior therapist at Working on the Body, people are more likely to be mean to people they love because they are ‘sure’ that their feelings are real.
“We feel that we have more licence to behave badly, because we absolutely understand and acknowledge that they will stick with us,” she claimed, as per Metro.
She claimed that it was a good thing to express negativity towards your partner sometimes, as this stops you from getting stuck in ‘the lie of toxic positivity, where you only allow each other to express positive emotions, which is unhealthy’.
However, she stressed that nobody should put up with abusive behaviour, or any other behaviour that is hurting their mental health or self-esteem.
Topics: Social Media, Sex and Relationships, Instagram, US News
Ella Scott