Neil Patrick Harris had the perfect reply to an eager fan during a showing of Hedwig and the Angry Inch over the weekend.

Neil Patrick Harris' Exchange With A Fan

One of the female members of the audience took the opportunity of being so close to Harris to shout out, “I love you, Neil!” Instead of ignoring her, Harris responded to her in character, reported Page Six.

“Who the f–k is Neil?” said Harris, channeling his transgender East German punk rock character Hedwig. “I’m doing something up here, ¬mother–ker!”

Following his response, the audience erupted in cheers for the How I Met Your Mother actor.

Harris Clarifies His Curse Out

After the initial media blitz about the incident, Harris was concerned that some people would get the impression that it was he – not Hedwig – that cursed out the audience member and used Twitter to link to an article that offered some clarification.

“The response to the fan yelling was actually done in character — Neil as Hedwig, not as though Neil stopped the show to respond out of character,” a rep for Harris told Gossip Cop. “It was all done in good fun, and fully in the context of the show. The audience went crazy and it really was a light-hearted moment, which is not being properly contextualized in any of these various posts.”

– Chelsea Regan