the greatest beer chug ever

A comedian is receiving praise for her handling of a scary situation on stage after she was grilled on who she voted for in the 2020 election and nearly hit by a beer can. 

Comedian Ariel Elias shared a video on Twitter that showed her performing at a New Jersey comedy club and taking questions from the audience when a patron demands to know whether she voted for former President Donald Trump. After Elias says she doesn’t care who anyone in the room voted for, the heckler shouts, “So you voted for Biden? … I could just tell by your jokes you voted for Biden.”

Elias responds, “Yeah, so what,” asking the woman why it matters who she voted for before joking, “I can tell by the fact that you’re still talking when nobody wants you to that you voted for Trump.” As she tries to move on, the clip shows a beer can being thrown on stage, hitting the wall and narrowly missing Elias — who proceeds to pick up the beer and chug it to applause from the crowd.

Dino Ibelli, owner of the comedy club, told BuzzFeed News the heckler’s male partner threw the can and that they left the venue quickly after the incident, but Ibelli said he has been in touch with police. On Twitter, Elias noted the club is pressing charges and that she’s already been booked to return in April.  

Elias received an outpouring of support from fellow comedians after the incident, with Jimmy Kimmel applauding her “flawless performance” and inviting her to come on his show. Director Judd Apatow also tweeted, “Well handled by Ariel who is clearly funny and strong and knows what she’s doing out there.”