For a man who is not afraid to call people out, Bill Burr sure caved quickly for a paycheck. Burr is one of the comedians who performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival and now he’s defending the choice. Just say you wanted the money, man.
On his Monday Morning Podcast, Burr said that going to the festival was “one of the top three experiences I’ve had” and “mind blowing.” As comedian David Cross, who was not asked to perform nor did he want to perform there, put it, the festival can be described as follows: “Depraved, awful people put a ‘fun face’ on their crimes against humanity.”
Burr, it seems, is more interested in the fact that people in Saudi Arabia know who he is rather than focusing on the crimes against human rights that the Saudi government is accused of. Or their alleged role in 9/11. David Cross said it better than I can. All of your bitching about ‘cancel culture’ and ‘freedom of speech’ and all that shit? Done. You don’t get to talk about it ever again,” Cross wrote. “By now, we’ve all seen the contract you had to sign. You’re performing for literally the most oppressive regime on earth. […] This is truly the definition of blood money.”
On the podcast, Burr praised the event.”It was great to experience that part of the world and to be a part of the first comedy festival over there in Saudi Arabia. The royals loved the show. Everyone was happy. The people that were doing the festival were thrilled,” Burr said. “I had to stop a couple times during the show and say, ‘I’ll be honest with you guys, I cannot f*cking believe any of you have any idea who I am.’ It was just this great exchange of energy. They know their reputation. So they were extra friendly.”
Going to need these guys to start admitting they’re doing it for the money
Burr talks about feeling welcome, the Western perception of the area, and how they got him there but doesn’t address the fact that Saudi Arabia is being accused of horrible human rights violations. But if that check is big enough, who cares, right? Which brings me to my point: Just admit you wanted the money so we all can move on.
We live in an era where a lot of actors and comedians we all loved are making choices that have many going “This is…disgraceful! Why do this?” The answer is the money. But none of them want to seem that shallow so they don’t say as much. Instead, they all pretend like it is for some higher purpose. Nah man, you wanted that pretty pay check.
Burr’s entire podcast is a series of nonsense words to try to justify performing and okay, dude! I hope it was worth it. You built your brand as being the guy who pushes back on people and then when it mattered, you caved for the money and are praising the experience. So now that you lost whatever good grace you had from people, I hope that check was worth it.
(featured image: Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage)
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