Comic Declines To Press Charges In Beer-Flinging Incident: Police

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, NJ — The comedian who chugged a beer hurled at her by an audience member at Uncle Vinnie's Comedy Club on Saturday night has declined to press charges against the Brick Township man who threw the beer, Point Pleasant Beach police said Tuesday.

Comedian Ariel Elias was given the option to pursue charges after Point Pleasant Beach police reviewed video of the incident that happened about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, Police Chief Robert J. Kowalewski said.

"The performer said she did not want to pursue charges. She was advised the incident was being documented and how to sign a complaint if she changed her mind," Kowalewski said.

"I'm not, because in order to do that, I would have to return to Point Pleasant Beach, and I'm not doing that unless someone pays me to," Elias said in an interview with Newsweek.

Elias was about halfway through her set on Saturday night, joking about women and their body image issues, when she opened up a question-and-answer session, something she does sometimes that usually leads to more comedy bits. An exchange ensued with a woman who was heckling Elias for voting for Biden, and when Elias responded with a snarky response about Trump, the woman got mad, club owner Dino Ibelli said. Read more: Comic Chugs Beer Thrown By Heckler At Point Pleasant Beach Comedy Club

As the heckler got up to leave, her husband flung the beer from his seat — the audience sits about 20 feet from the stage, Ibelli said. The couple, who Ibelli said are from Brick, quickly left, he said, but people who knew them gave Ibelli their names and said they were husband and wife.

Ibelli called Point Pleasant Beach the next day, he said.

Kowalewski said police went to the club about 1:30 p.m. Sunday to take the report, including the names of the couple involved, along with video footage of the incident. Elias told police she could not see who threw the beer because of the stage lights.

Video of the incident has racked up millions of views across social media from Twitter to TikTok, and put Elias in the spotlight.

On Sunday, 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."

On Monday she added: "This experience has really taught me to trust my gut, and to fill that gut with beer."

Elias, whose Twitter account has more than doubled its followers, acknowledged the attention it has gotten her again on Tuesday:

"Thank God I'm not lactose intolerant because I am really going to milk this." Followed almost immediately with: "You should unfollow me for this."