Comedian praised for 'genius' way he handled 'arrogant' audience member in front row of his set

A comedian has been praised for how he handled an 'arrogant' heckler during his show who  was praised for how he handled an 'arrogant' man in the front row of his show who refused to take his feet off the stage. Eric Rushton, from Staffordshire, took to the stage at Key Theatre in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire for a set, however the performance was interrupted by a rude guest in the front row.

The man, who revealed his name was Wayne, decided to use the stage as his personal footstool, which became distracting for the comic. After confronting the audience member about the positioning of his feet and making no progress at all, Eric continued to mock the man throughout the remainder of his set - for which he has received commendation from fans.

Taking to TikTok to explain what happened, the Eric shared the frustrating interaction and provided commentary. In the video, which racked up over 800,000 views, Eric said: 'I love this guy, just chilling out, legs on the stage, he couldn't give a f**k.'.

As the man just stared blankly back at the comedian, he quipped: 'Get them down, now.'. However with the request falling on deaf ears, Eric joked: 'OK, I have no authority. He's carried on with it.'. Eric Rushton, from Staffordshire, took to the stage at Key Theatre in Peterborough, was praised for how he handled an 'arrogant' man in the front row of his show who refused to take his feet off the stage.

Eric then walked over to the man and tried to playfully kick his feet down off of the stage but it was met with more hostility. In a clip from Eric overlayed on the gig video, the comedian explained: 'His feet have remained planted and he's just staring at me. He's this middle aged man and he looks scary as f**k.'.

During the gig Eric can be heard saying he has 'never really encountered this kind of stubbornness before'. He asked the man: 'Can I just get a check on what your thought process is here?'. The audience member stayed silent and continued to just stare at the comedian, making for an awkward situation.

Eric quipped: 'OK... good banter, I think I've established my authority in the room.'. Asking what the man's name is and what he does, the man simply said: 'Wayne. Sparky.'. Eric responded: 'Have you ever spoken in more than one word at a time before?'. Taking to TikTok Eric shared the frustrating interaction and provided commentary to give the viral video context.

Many were impressed with how Eric handled the awkward interaction, with some saying he 'handled it perfectly'. As the gig continued, the comedian asked the audience if anyone was in love in the room, saying he 'expected silence coming from Wayne's direction'.

'He chats them in to bed my man does, with those one word answers': Eric joked. 'Sparky, Wayne. Mine. Now.'. Ending the clip to applause, Eric asked Wayne: 'Is it hard for you to have sex because obviously your feet need to be elevated at all times?'. Many were impressed with how Eric handled the awkward interaction, with some saying he 'handled it perfectly.'.

One person wrote: 'Genius! Best comedy is thinking on your feet....pardon the foot reference! Well handled!. Another added: 'Key Theatre Peterborough, I was there! Enjoyed your set. The arrogance of Wayne was pretty breathtaking, he didn’t strike me as a regular theatregoer.'.

Someone else wrote: 'I have so much respect for comedians who can do great crowd work. This is quality.'. A fourth wrote: 'I'd have refused to carry on till he got his feet down. The battle of wills could have been fun.'. It comes after Peter Kay threw hecklers out of his Manchester homecoming gig last week.

Warehouse driver Philip Peters, 54, and his 26-year-old son were thrown out after Mr Peters, a lifelong fan, shouted 'garlic bread' several times from the crowd - while Myar Curran, 25, was kicked out moments later as she shouted 'we love you Peter'. Kay's £27 million-grossing Better Late Than Never tour is the comedian's first live tour in over a decade and has been running for almost three years.

Saturday's incidents at the AO Arena were the second and third times on the tour the comedian says he had 'no choice' but to throw out attendees. In a post on Instagram Stories, Peter explained that the first heckler had been disrupting his stand-up show by repeatedly shouting 'garlic bread,' and he made the decision to eject them after 'forty audience members' agreed it was distracting.

He then went onto address his jibe at the other audience member, saying he 'didn't see it as an insult.'. Peter wrote: 'At the show on Saturday night, February 8th, in Manchester, I had two hecklers disrupting from the very start. 'I did my best to address the situation and make light of it, as any comedian would, but unfortunately, their interruptions continued.

'I then tried to ignore them, hoping they'd settle down, but when the disruption persisted into the second half of the show, I asked the audience around them if they were being bothered by the noise. 'They all shouted ''yes'' and when I asked for a show of hands, at least forty people raised theirs.