A comedian has been praised for her brilliant comeback after shutting down a heckle from a "mainsplainer".
Julie Kim, a stand-up comic, shut down a male heckler who interrupted her set with unsolicited medical advice about childbirth.
Kim had been sharing a story about her elective caesarean birth when the man raised his hand and insisted on weighing in.
Declaring that he reads “scientific studies for fun,” he turned to the crowd and said: “It’s very important to have a natural birth," adding: “That’s how you give immunity to your child."
Kim initially attempted to steer things back on course, reminding him that she was, in fact, the “star of the show.” But when the man kept going, she decided to end the conversation her way - with a mic-drop moment.
“Yes, but you don’t know that after I had my C-section, they were like ‘Do you want to hold her’ and I said ‘No,’” Kim responded.
“I actually dipped her back in a few times. Thank you so much for your medical advice, sir," she added.
The comedian captioned the clip: "Coming to San Francisco, Victoria, Calgary, Vancouver, NY, Philly ++ This guy needs to 'cut it out', am I right?" and it has amassed over 38K likes on the social media platform.
While some research, like a 2019 study by UK scientists, has investigated possible links between C-sections and gut health issues in infants, there are numerous legitimate reasons why women choose or medically require caesarean births.
Dr. Trevor Lawley of the Wellcome Sanger Institute told the BBC, cited by News.com.au: “What surprised me and scared me was the amount of healthcare bugs showing up in these children. It could be 30 per cent of their total microbiome.
“But what excites me is we have an amazing body of data now that we can build on, to think about how to properly establish the human ecosystem, starting at birth,” he added.
As for Kim’s brutal takedown, the audience wasn’t the only one clapping. The internet exploded with praise.
“‘I dipped her in a few times’ - the only way to respond to that, honestly,” one person commented. Another chimed in: “Another guy mansplaining childbirth to a mum.”
“Holy sh**. This is top level mansplaining and absolutely no awareness of his role in the audience. My god, the entitlement,” a third shared.
One user added: “Unsolicited advice? From a man about childbirth? *Ms. Kim - you responded with graceful comedy, well done!! I would not have responded so well.”
Many pointed out the absurdity of the heckle itself. “As if C-section was a choice? funny,” one user penned. A second added: “I think men need to get pregnant and give birth before they can give any advice! Sometimes the only option is a c-section especially if the baby is breeched or if the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck or in case of an emergency."
Others called out how quickly the man folded once Kim clapped back. “The way he starts shaking his head and motioning that he’s had enough once you clap back as if he didn’t start it,” one observed.
And perhaps the most cutting comment of all: “The arrogance of thinking he knows more than doctors because he read a summary of a study once. You were nicer than you needed to be."