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US comedians defend decision to play in Saudi Arabia: ‘They’re paying me enough to look the other way’
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 05 Oct 2025
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I used to love standup comedy. These days I feel as though so much of the mainstream comedy scene is made up of immature losers who peaked in highschool. Joe Rogan, Bert Kreisher, Bobby Lee, Chris Distefano... I cannot stand these guys. The list goes on.
I thought Bill Burr was different. I'm really disappointed.
burr at least spoke out against the billionaire class....
but then he took the fucking bonesaw money. fuck.
Should we start calling him Bonesaw Bill or Bonesaw Burr.
mr funnybonesaw
That freckled fuck is dead to me. He has gone against all he has said om his podcast and then doubled down. What a fucking tool.
I unsubscribed and sent him an email saying exactly why. No "dear billy blah blah" or "go fuck yourself" silliness either.
Others should too.
Yeah, I never really cared for his vibe as a comedian until that part happened and then he decided to do this like a month or two later so I'll go back to not caring about his shit again. I do hope people keep giving him shit for it until he stops showing his face though.
Just shows he was only speaking out because he thought he would make money from it, not because of any ethical principles.
Wait, what's the bonesaw money?
MBS had Khashoggi (a journalist living in the US) murdered in the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul, then cut up with bone saws and packed into a suitcase.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Jamal_Khashoggi
you can see the obvious comedic angles there.
Ah, okay. I was aware of that, just thought maybe there was more of a connection to bill burr than just taking the money, like he had previously commented on it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Jamal_Khashoggi
Taylor Tomlinson popped up on my feeds and it's a fresh breath. Gianmarco Soresi did as well, but I doubt I'll watch his special
Taylor's, though, I'd go see that live, and I'm not somebody to go to comedy clubs
I've seen her live. She's great, and worth it. She's funny with both her rehearsed material and her crowdwork.
I think I could prepare a damned funny show, but no way could I ad lib like Tomlinson. Sometimes, when the mood hits, I can run with it, but she's consistently on the ball.
I really like both. Gianmarco has exploded into my recommendations recently and I love every second.
She is pure brilliant.
I don't think I've seen any clips that I haven't laughed at. maybe a few that didn't hit hard, but whoever is doing her media, they're picking great stuff. and lots of it really gets me good, she's just a great act
I'm a big fan. Seen all her specials and saw her live this year. She is a big talent. I'm happy for her. In other words, I don't think it's that good bits are being promoted, they're all good bits.
don't forget caleb hearon
I really hope he grows and shows some real contrition about it. It would take time to convince me, but I really hope he just didn’t think it through. Such a bummer.
Sadly, my prediction is that he'll use his classic "I'm dumb, I don't read the news" line as an excuse, and then go back to trashing billionaires as early as next week.
I don't give a shit if he grows or not, I'm done with him. I saw what he did.
Choke on your blood money, bill burka.
In my fantasy world, these comedians are currently in conference calls working on material to fry the Saudis together.
Obviously they'd execute the first one that did it, but I like to dream
In my fantasy world countries aren't run by murderous lying regimes
Bill Burr is different in many ways but the clip of him screaming "fagot" at the crowd was a clue that he's no ethical paragon
Bobby Lee is a pedophile and I block every YouTube channel that suggests his videos.
This I did not know.
He came out later claiming it was a joke, but I don’t see how anyone can turn that into a comedy bit. This made me look at him deeper and he has a history of being creepy with women, many times on camera. I rather just avoid his stuff
I used to think I could sorta relate with him as he has that underachieving Asian persona.
The reason I got tired of him was how I felt like he kept giving free passes for his costars to do low-hanging racist jokes. Sometimes, a joke based on ethnicity can be bang on, like it makes me feel, "holy shit, that's so true" because it's based on a very keen observation. But when it's a bunch of trashy "comedians" making jokes about small eyes, small cock, ching-chong-chang names, eating dog, etc. based on stereotypes, it's just insulting.
And now he turns out to be a creep toward women and children, so fuck him even more, I guess. Too bad :(
Standup was a thing in the 80s. I feel like even by the 90s it was already dying. There were a few unique acts like Mitch Hedberg for example, but the format itself is kind of no longer relevant.
Excuse me say what? This news had me thinking yesterday about how many solid comedians there are now vs. back in the day. In the 80s, we could name most popular comedians. "Ever heard of this Eddie Murphy guy?"
Now? The list is enormous, and filled with hard hitters. I can spend all night on YouTube only watching the most popular, barely scratching the surface.
I appreciate this take. It's interesting to think about - I have often felt alienated because I often don't enjoy standup - neither from the classics nor the modern comedians.
Odd! With so much talent out there it's surprising someone hasn't hit your joy button.
Honestly think a big part of it was cable tv and premium channels becoming big and needing unique content, which led to comedy specials and shows.
The lack of comedy venues in most places except big cities around the US.
The ability to play uncensored shows and filmed comedy performances made for great late night TV for HBO and Showtime.
I think by the late 90’s- 2000’s the internet had stolen some of the spotlight and there were more comedy coming from improv groups and standup that landed TV deals. So that’s how we ended up with Reno 911, and shows like Chepelle, and Key and Peele. This was during the time that Mind Of Mencia was on. Comedy Central did a lot by just giving standup their own sketch type 30-60 min shows on prime time.
I think a lot of the people in comedy these days have piloted from touring to doing things like live podcasts and whatnot. The straight standup routine isn’t seen nearly as much anymore. Plus a lot of content is just directed directly to YouTube and patreon channels because it’s easier and more profitable.