Every comedian has a bit about the news. Josh Johnson may be the first one whose bit got fact-checked live by the actual guy who edited the story.

Johnson was on stage at a packed theater in Vancouver doing a riff about a very local news report. A neighborhood bodega cat was being evicted over health concerns and the coverage was so earnest it delighted him. He told the crowd he badly wanted to meet the editor responsible.

Someone in the audience yelled back that he was there. Johnson squinted into the lights and asked the obvious question. The cat is here? No, the crowd shouted. The editor is here.

A surprise guest in a matching hoodie

Out of the seats came Jon Azpiri, a copy editor and reporter at Canada's public broadcaster who had come straight from his shift. Johnson wore his trademark light gray hoodie. Azpiri walked up in a dark gray one. The audience noticed right away.

What followed was about 10 minutes of the most polite roast you will ever see. When Johnson started asking about the cat, Azpiri stopped him with a real newsroom problem. His team writes a lot of cat stories, so he needed to know which cat.

Azpiri then explained that his outlet follows a code called Journalistic Standards and Practices. Johnson did not miss a beat. There is really no need to brag, he told him.

Even on his way out he kept editing

The two shook hands and the room cheered. As Azpiri headed back to his seat he reminded everyone that the province had an election the next day. Johnson pointed after him and laughed. That is a real editor right there, he said.

Johnson posted the clip on Tuesday and it took off fast. It passed 2.4 million views on one app and hundreds of thousands more on another within hours. Johnson later said the moment felt like serendipity and that being open to spontaneous gifts on stage is how the best stuff happens.

Azpiri admitted the whole thing almost did not happen. On the walk to the show he had told his wife he hoped they were not seated close enough for crowd work. When Johnson called for the editor his eyes bugged out and his wife could not help herself. She was the one who yelled that he was there.

He had no idea cameras were rolling. He figured it would make a nice story for his kids. Now the whole internet has it. He says he has no plans to try stand-up and is happy with second billing.