Top 10 Moments in Heckler History: How to Handle Hecklers Like the Pros

Defined as the ability to recover from difficult situations, developing resilience is a tool that we all can benefit from. To me, there’s no better example of this than watching standup comedians shut down hecklers at their shows. I’m not alone, either: clips of comics eviscerating these rude audience members garner millions of views online every day and even make headline news. For example, comedian Ariel Elias went viral last fall when an angry audience member heckled her then threw a full beer can at her head. Shocked, and likely a little scared, Ariel had the best response: she chugged the beer and moved on. Iconic.

Learning how to deal with hecklers in life is all about turning lemons into lemonade. At the frontlines of the Great Heckler Wars, comics bravely perform every night to rowdy crowds who may not find their jokes funny. Rather than simply not laughing (yes, it really could be that simple) hecklers feel emboldened to interject. It's up to the person with the microphone to navigate the situation and stay in control – for their benefit and the audience's.

LET'S COUNT IT DOWN

We can all learn from the wisdom of comedians and apply it to our own lives. Whether running for local office, presenting a slide deck at work, or daring to tweet in the year 2023, we've got more opportunities than ever to have a platform. When you have the mic, learning how to handle a heckler is a necessary skill. This is especially true for political candidates, advocates, and organizers who can turn an awkward situation into a powerful moment to teach, engage, and help control the narrative. 

Now, let's look at some of the greatest moments in heckler history — featuring non-comedians who implemented key strategies from comedians — and learn from these expert approaches!

10. Mike Pence vs The Fly

During the 2020 vice presidential debates, there was someone who clearly stole the show -- and it wasn't either candidate. At one point during Pence's remarks, a fly annoyingly landed on his head and could not get enough of the guy. Typically, it’s a good call to ignore distractions and stay focused on your message – but a vice presidential debate stage is far from typical. By design, it’s intentionally void of any distractions, so the smallest distraction (you know, like the size of a fly) can have a big impact. Though the former vice president ultimately chose not to engage with this micro-heckler, the fly went on to have a life of its own. It spawned memes, instantly trended on Twitter, and his opposition leveraged the moment by selling a hilarious Truth Over Flies fly swatter to help raise funds for the Democratic Party.

Lesson learned: Ignoring the distraction became an even bigger distraction. There is major power in naming an awkward situation and moving on. If Pence had just acknowledged the fly with a cheesy joke or demonstrated some awareness of the situation, America might have moved on sooner. Maybe.

9. Joe Biden vs The Crying Toddler

Known for his ability to laugh at himself, Biden’s prepared remarks were no match for a crying toddler at a recent White House event. Notably, he wasn't angry about the interruption, and certainly didn't avoid acknowledging it. Biden offered a quick self-deprecating quip and created a moment of authentic connection with the crowd: "I don’t blame you, I'm bored with me, too." He commanded the situation, inspired laughs, showed tenderness toward a child, and returned to his speech when the moment was right. Biden leaned in, engaged with humor, and humbly signaled that a baby's well-being was more important than his talking points.

Lesson learned:  The president demonstrated humility and humanity, which I consider pretty important qualities for the leader of the free world. The engagement diffused a tense moment, communicated a message about Biden that even the best speechwriter could do, and allowed him to freely return to his remarks.

8. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez vs Someone Else’s Heckler

As one of the fastest rising political stars in America who unseated the fourth ranking Democrat in the house when she was just 28, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is no stranger to hecklers. Perhaps that’s why she handled this interaction during a town hall so efficiently – and the heckler’s rude comments weren’t even directed at her. When a heckler called her fellow panelist a “moron” (which she may have even privately agreed with) she immediately shut it down. “Hey! That’s unacceptable! And that’s the difference between me and Trump,” she added, highlighting the stark contrast in leadership qualities. She didn’t miss a beat, showed respect even for those with opposing viewpoints, and pressed on.   

Lesson learned: AOC shut down negativity by demonstrating a cool and confident command of the situation. She acknowledged the distraction, asserted boundaries to help maintain a positive environment for her fellow panelists and audience, and stayed laser-focused on her message. Bam. Done. It doesn't need to be more complicated than that.

7. Hillary Clinton vs The Town Hall Heckler

Town Halls can be a real “high risk/high reward” scenario for a candidate. While they won’t know the questions or audience members in advance, they do get to authentically engage and seem like real humans more than on a debate stage. Interaction is part of the format, and every attendee has a chance to participate! So, when someone at this town hall would not stop shouting and interrupting the process, Secretary Hillary Clinton was right to ignore the person…until she could no longer be ignored. Secretary Clinton paused to acknowledge her directly with a clear message: "You are very rude and I'm not going to ever call on you." The only thing louder than this mic drop moment is the eruption of applause from the audience, who had grown increasingly irritated by the woman's interruptions and lack of respect.

Lesson learned: “With great power comes great responsibility” isn’t just for Spiderman, it’s for anyone with a platform. When you have the mic, it’s your responsibility to help manage the environment and experience for the audience. Secretary Clinton maintained composure, prioritized keeping a positive environment for the rest of the room, and redirected energy to audience members who played by the rules. Kudos, Secretary Clinton.

6. Beto O'Rourke vs. The Campaign Heckler

A powerful interaction between a heckler and former Texas Representative Beto O’Rourke made headlines during a campaign stop for his gubernatorial race. As O’Rourke grieved the elementary school children who lost their lives in the Uvalde mass shooting, a heckler laughed. Rather than ignore, redirect, engage with humor, provide a teachable moment, or maintain composure, O’Rourke reacted as a father. As someone rightfully horrified, heartbroken, and pissed off. As a real human being. He yelled back, “it might be funny to you, mother f*cker, but it’s not to me!” The crowd erupted into appreciative applause. He used a curse word during a campaign event – and hurled it at an audience member. While this is typically a big no-no in Campaigning 101, his remarks underscored the hypocrisy of anyone who would dare to be more offended over an f-bomb than a literal mass shooting that murdered children.

Lesson learned: In this powerful display of authenticity, O’Rourke tossed his stump speech to the wind and risked his entire campaign. He was vulnerable and raw, recognizing the moment was bigger than his candidacy. He used his platform to call out a bully and address a harmful comment head-on. Now that’s what I call leadership.

5. Chlöe Swarbrick vs The Boomer Heckler

Chlöe Swarbrick, a millennial member of New Zealand’s parliament, was interrupted by a fellow elected leader while she was giving an impassioned speech about climate change. Specifically, this section of her speech highlighted generational differences among parliament and how an older generation’s climate inaction was negatively impacting the lives of future generations. So when her fellow politicians – climate deniers – began to heckle her, Swarbrick shut it down with a brief but bold “Okay, boomer” (referencing a popular internet comeback) and pressed on. With impeccable timing, she expertly stayed on message. “Okay, boomer” was basically the CliffsNotes version of her speech and a response to all climate deniers, but something that could have never formally been incorporated into her remarks.

Lesson learned: Swarbrick demonstrated how to quickly and expertly shut down a heckler, use humor to underscore her message, and carry on. This is the type of no-nonsense energy that we need in elected office, and indicative of what might be possible as younger leaders run up and down the ballots, all around the world. **Extra credit: facing backlash from fragile conservative boomers, she defended her remarks in a subsequent social media message – brilliantly deploying elements of satire and self-deprecation to further drive home her points.

4. Barack Obama vs The Rally Heckler

Let’s be real: I could have compiled a list just of President Obama’s top ten moments dealing with hecklers. This man is a legend on the mic. However, I especially love this example of Obama facing off with a heckler during a campaign rally. This interaction shows one of his greatest leadership qualities in action: empathy. He turned this interaction with a heckler into a teachable moment, not to embarrass the person (though being owned by the President in such a public forum naturally has that effect) but to try and reach out across their differences.

Obama responded to the heckler with, "There is a process that we set up in our democracy. Right now, I'm talking. You'll have a chance to talk sometime soon. We don't have to interrupt each other...it's not a good way to do business." He continued to engage longer than most other examples, using reason and logic to discredit the heckler and try to change the behavior.

Lesson learned: Obama expertly turned the interruption from a heckler into an opportunity to educate, unite the audience, and stay in control of the situation. It also sent a message about tolerance and bridging divides. It demonstrated his leadership, philosophy, compassion -- all in ways that scripted comments could never come close to.

P.S. It really is so hard to pick just one moment from President Obama's history with hecklers. Thankfully, we don't have to because the LA Times published this fabulous Greatest Hits compilation years ago (so more recent interactions aren't included). When Obama says, "You're in my house!" he is highlighting the core philosophy when it comes to dealing with hecklers.

3. Bernie Sanders vs The Bird Heckler

Similar to the fly that came in at #10, this bird also spawned memes and merchandise – but the big winner here was Senator Bernie Sanders. When a small bird landed on the Senator’s podium during a rally in Portland, OR, he leaned into the delightfully bizarre nature of the situation. Rather than shooing it away, calling for help, or ignoring the bird, he acknowledged it. He laughed. He went off-script! More than anything, came off as gentle and real. I mean, even a tiny bird who could literally soar the open sky chose him! When you consider the overlap between Sanders’ supporters and fans of the show “Portlandia” – whose “put a bird on it” gag about the Portland’s popular hipster design aesthetic of featuring images of birds became iconic – it worked on many levels and went beyond any writer’s wildest speechwriting dreams.

Lesson learned: If you see something, say something! Senator Sanders acknowledged the silliness, playfully interacted with the scene, and communicated a powerful message by commenting on the symbolism. He demonstrated how to be tender even when in a position of power and literally used his platform to call for peace. Embrace the bizarre!

2. Olivia Julianna vs The Sitting Congressman Heckler

This is a story about how to turn lemons into lemonade. Florida Representative Matt Gaetz somehow thought it was funny to joke during a political speech about how only unattractive women are worried about having abortions. It’s a garbage take and I won’t detail it further.

Thankfully,  19-year-old political activist Olivia Julianna took to her Twitter with the following message in response:

“Its come to my attention that Matt Gaetz — alleged pedophile— has said that it’s always the “odious.. 5’2 350 pound” women that “nobody wants to impregnate” who rally for abortion. I’m actually 5’11. 6’4 in heels. I wear them so the small men like you are reminded of your place”

 Olivia demonstrated humility and humor while using her platform to call out a bully and inspire action. Donations to support abortion access began to pour in. Hell yeah! But, the bully punched back – that’s right, a sitting member of Congress let his insecurity take over and he tweeted a picture of Olivia, along with a rude message, to his followers. (Ugh.) The back-and-forth continued far longer than appropriate – did I mention this was a sitting member of Congress?! – but the young activist leveraged the moment and her platform. She ultimately raised over $2 million for abortion funds in only a few days. LEGEND.

Lessons learned: Olivia demonstrated resilience, utilized elements of humor, and maintained perspective that the fight was bigger than her alone. She took advantage of her platform and dutifully stayed on message – leveraging a Twitter battle with an anti-choice congressman into a hugely successful fundraiser for abortion access. (She even offered to send him flowers as a thank you for his help with the record-breaking donations. Again, hilarious.)

1. Greta Thunberg vs The Now-Under-House-Arrest Heckler

On the one hand, it’s more than a little disturbing that the top two heckles on this list involve grown men bullying teenage girls on the Internet – but at least it shows that the kids are more than all right.

In case you missed it, let me set the stage: Andrew Tate is a misogynistic media personality and former professional kickboxer (which will be relevant soon) who, unprompted, tweeted at then 19-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg to boast about his car collection’s climate-destroying emissions. She hilariously clapped back with:

“yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com”

 Greta’s response was already iconic, becoming one of the most liked Tweets of all time. She used her platform to discredit Tate and make fun of his arrogance by simply responding to a message he first sent her (which was, again, unprompted). But it didn’t stop there. Tate replied again, this time with some ridiculously macho video that that happened to feature a pizza box. Well, that pizza box helped lead authorities to his previously unknown location where he was soon after arrested by Romanian authorities in connection with sex trafficking allegations.

 The arrest made global headlines. Greta’s final response – impressively on message and just as hilarious as her first – solidified her place in the history books:

“That’s what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes.” 

Lessons learned: This is the ultimate mic drop moment. Lemons that turned into the best-tasting lemonade of all time. You know, my dad once gave me the advice to never start a fight, but always finish it. This is also a good approach to dealing with hecklers and bullies, and one that Greta expertly demonstrated. She leveraged her platform, stayed on message as an environmental activist, and stood up to a bully. In fact, moments after her final tweet, someone updated the kickboxing record on Andrew Tate’s Wikipedia page to include his loss to Greta on the “Twitter streets.”  

Every comedian was rightfully jealous, and the outcome could not have been better. Justice served and a climate activist’s platform reached millions of people worldwide. Greatest. Heckler. Takedown. Ever.