POINT PLEASANT BEACH – A comedian who made international news at a local comedy club when she recovered gracefully from an attack by a patron told police she won’t press charges.
Ariel Elias was performing at Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club on October 8. She was doing some crowd work, which is when the comic interacts with the audience and improvises. Anything can happen in a situation like this.
She asked if anyone had any questions for her. This led to a woman asking about her politics.
Elias attempted to give noncommittal answers. When the patron continued to ask questions, even though the comic had moved on, she shut it down by mocking the patron. She went back into her routine and then a beer slammed into the wall behind her with enough force that it could have caused serious damage. Witnesses said it was thrown from a man that came to the club with the woman who was asking Elias political questions. She didn’t respond to the attack, but simply picked up the beer and drank the rest in one gulp.
Point Pleasant Beach Police released a statement that they responded to the club after being informed of the incident. They were provided possible suspect information.
Club management gave the officer Elias’ contact information. Elias told an officer that she wasn’t going to press charges, police said. She was told the incident was being documented and was informed how to sign a complaint if she changed her mind.
“This is the first time this has happened in 19 years,” said Dino Ibelli, owner of Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club. He can be seen in the video crossing the camera’s path to de-escalate the woman before the beer got thrown.
Ibelli said that the crowd that night was really good except for that one couple.
The video going viral is good for Elias, since it has been shared by a number of comedians. She was interviewed about it for Rolling Stone and Newsweek. Jimmy Kimmel complimented it on Twitter. Elias replied, asking if she could make her late night debut on his show and he said “definitely.”
A few days after the incident, she tweeted “I’d really appreciate it if anyone could please just let my teachers know that chugging a beer has in fact been great for my career.”
JerseyShoreOnline.com requested comments from Elias but she did not respond by press time.
