Hillary Clinton was forced to duck on Thursday when a female protester threw what was described as a shoe at her. (Reuters)
Hillary Clinton was forced to duck on Thursday when a female protester threw what was described as a shoe at her. (Reuters)Reuters

After George W Bush, it seems it is now Hillary Clinton's turn to get a shoe hurled at her.

The former Secretary of State had to duck at a Las Vegas event on Thursday, when a female protester threw a shoe at her. When the shoe flew past her right ear, Clinton had just begun a speech on recycling and solid waste management.

And as is the case with every little embarrassing moment, the best way to save yourself is to make a joke out of the whole thing. Clinton seemed to be a champion on this subject as the situation was quickly turned into a fun moment when she outsmarted the woman's poor aim.

"Is that somebody throwing something at me? Is that part of Cirque du Soleil?" Clinton joked, the New York Daily News reported. "My goodness, I didn't know that solid waste management was so controversial. Good thing she didn't play softball like I did," she added, in a sardonic tone that she is known for.

The crowd held their breath when the shoe went flying towards Clinton, only to start cheering the former First Lady's reaction a few moments later. The shoe-thrower, whose name has not been revealed yet, was taken into custody, news outlets reported, citing a source from Associated Press.

When the woman was removed from the hall, she appeared to be wearing sandals on both feet, indicating that she had brought an extra shoe with her just to hurl at Clinton.

The woman was later identified as a non-member of the Scrap Recyling Industries, to which Clinton was addressing when the incident happened.

This was not the first time that a major US politician has had footwears thrown at them. Former President George W Bush had a pair of shoes thrown at him during a visit to Iraq in 2008.

Bush dodged two shoes thrown at him by a man during a news conference with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on 14 December 2008.

Click here to see the video of the shoe being thrown at Clinton.

(Ed: VP)