{"id":209367,"date":"2025-10-08T15:21:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T15:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/209367\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T15:21:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T15:21:11","slug":"bill-burr-fires-back-at-critics-of-his-riyadh-comedy-fest-appearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/209367\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Burr Fires Back at Critics of His Riyadh Comedy Fest Appearance"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tConan O\u2019Brien and the crew from his SiriusXM podcast took over Hollywood\u2019s Fonda Theatre on Sunday night for a special live recording of Conan O\u2019Brien Needs a Friend. After an introductory segment featuring co-hosts Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley, the Fonda\u2019s lights dimmed as O\u2019Brien readied to reveal his surprise guest \u2014\u00a0Bill Burr<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHi, I\u2019m Bill Burr and I feel wonderful about being Conan O\u2019Brien\u2019s friend,\u201d said the veteran actor-comedian from a podium to rousing applause from the capacity crowd, which included The Hollywood Reporter. But he wasn\u2019t exactly feeling wonderful about the week he\u2019d had. \u201cIt\u2019s been fucking fantastic,\u201d he quipped after taking a seat. \u201cJesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tO\u2019Brien was quick to note that his longtime friend and frequent guest had \u201cbeen in the news\u201d that week, an observation that likely did not come as a surprise to anyone in the room. Burr was among the 50 or so high-profile comedians who traveled to Saudi Arabia<\/a> for the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Taking place from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9, the event welcomed a who\u2019s who to the country for stand-up sets, a roster that included Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Kevin Hart<\/a>, Pete Davidson, Whitney Cummings, Andrew Schulz, Aziz Ansari, Jim Jefferies, Jo Koy, Sebastian Maniscalco, Mark Normand, Tom Segura, Bobby Lee, Jeff Ross and more.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt caused a firestorm of controversy<\/a> as word spread of its lineup, leading people like Marc Maron<\/a>, David Cross and Atsuko Okatsuka to speak out against it, given the kingdom\u2019s history of oppression and human rights abuses. Burr was quick to counter the criticism on his podcast \u2014 the episode dropped Sept. 30 as the online heat was still boiling \u2014 by saying what a great experience it was for him to travel to Saudi Arabia and perform in both Bahrain and Riyadh.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe royals loved the show. Everyone was happy. The people that were doing the festival were thrilled. The comedians that I\u2019ve been talking to are saying, \u2018Dude, you can feel [the audience] wanted it. They want to see real stand-up comedy.\u2019 It was a mind-blowing experience. Definitely top three experiences I\u2019ve had. I think it\u2019s going to lead to a lot of positive things,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\n\tBurr\u2019s tone had changed by Sunday night as he unleashed on his critics with a barrage of expletives, slamming the online outrage as being stirred up and inflamed by bots and reiterating that the festival itself was a sign of forward progress for the Middle East. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe general consensus is, \u2018How dare you go to that place and make those oppressed people laugh, you fucking piece of shit. I can\u2019t believe you went to that place. I can\u2019t find it on a map, and this bot said I was upset about it so now I am,\u201d Burr said in recapping the outrage. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to wear clothes made by sweatshop labor. It\u2019s quite another to go to the factory and make \u2019em laugh. I can\u2019t believe how much anger I had about this issue after it went viral.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTo that, O\u2019Brien joked, \u201cSo, you\u2019re here to apologize.\u201d Spoiler alert: He did not apologize. If anything, he delivered a warning that recent events in the United States have indicated \u201cwe\u2019re moving towards them.\u201d \u201cJesus Christ, we\u2019re fucking grabbing moms and dads and sticking \u2019em in a van for making illegally made fucking tacos to go to alligator Alcatraz,\u201d Burr said of the ICE raids. \u201cIt\u2019s fucking insane. It\u2019s insane. And someday they\u2019re gonna be out of brown people to put in those vans, they\u2019re still gonna have the vans, so you shouldn\u2019t be feeling comfortable about it. Thinking that you\u2019re not gonna be in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe continued by noting that he was one of the comedians who got \u201cthe most amount of shit\u201d about his appearance from other comedians whom he declined to name. \u201cAll of these sanctimonious cunts out there\u2026who don\u2019t really sincerely give a shit,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you actually give a fuck about those people and how they\u2019re living over there, there\u2019s gonna have to be these types of things to pull them in. And I will tell you, the Cheesecake Factory in Riyadh, it\u2019s incredible. It\u2019s right next to Pizza Hut and KFC, and if you want a pair of Timberlands, it\u2019s across the street next to the Marriott, catty-corner to the fucking Hilton.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMatt Gourley, Sona Movsesian, Bill Burr and Conan O\u2019Brien share the stage as SiriusXM presented Conan O\u2019Brien Needs a Friend Live at Hollywood\u2019s Fonda Theatre on Oct. 5, 2025. The episode is out now for SiriusXM Podcasts+ subscribers<\/a> and will be available widely on Oct. 15.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for SiriusXM)<\/p>\n

\n\tThough he didn\u2019t mention her by name, Burr gave a nice shout-out to fellow comedian Jessica Kirson, who was on the Riyadh Comedy Festival bill. \u201cOpenly gay, went over there and just did her fucking act. And she was in the middle of her act and two of the diplomats got up and she said to them, \u2018What are you guys going to go get on Grindr?\u2019\u201d Burr detailed. \u201cDude, 33 years of comedy, that\u2019s the biggest balls of anyone I\u2019ve ever seen.\u201d But then she received backlash from \u201chardcore psycho gays,\u201d Burr said, adding, \u201cFucking lunatics, man.\u201d After the outrage, Kirson apologized in a statement<\/a> to The Hollywood Reporter and revealed she would be donating her fee to a human rights organization.<\/p>\n

\n\tBurr said he had \u201cno fucking idea\u201d the festival would inspire such controversy from people that aren\u2019t able to locate Saudi Arabia on a map. \u201cOne time I did Abu Dhabi and somebody [texted me], \u2018Oh, you\u2019re going over there to get that blood money, right?\u2019 And I go, \u2018Hey, just for the record, I\u2019m also doing London, England on that tour, which is arguably the bloodiest fucking money out there,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe stated that he doesn\u2019t \u201cgive a fuck what all these phony fucking people are saying,\u201d nor does he care if his appearance negatively impacts his career. \u201cI really don\u2019t give a fuck Conan, and if it affects my career, I\u2019ve been to LAX enough in my life, I\u2019ll fucking sit home for a little bit. I will actually tell you LAX is slightly sadder than Saudi Arabia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut he did say that while the outrage was exploding, he never heard from his agent. \u201cI\u2019ve been going through this bullshit the whole week. My agent never even called me. He\u2019s been under his fucking desk,\u201d he joked. \u201cHe heard me on the podcast, saying what I said here, that I had a good time and it was a positive thing so he thought that was the mindset that I was in through the week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe was in contact with his tour manager, who shared with him some of the feedback he was getting. \u201cOne of my favorite things is this scumbag club owner texted my tour manager because he heard I was over there [in Saudi Arabia]. He goes, \u2018Bring back a burka and a sweatshirt in size oppression.\u2019 That was his joke. So I wrote back to him, \u2018Why don\u2019t you concentrate on not ripping off comedians? You fucking piece of shit.\u2019 And he never wrote back,\u201d Burr said.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn closing, Burr said that events like the Riyadh Comedy Festival \u201chave to happen\u201d in order to push progress forward. \u201cIt was necessary. It felt right afterward,\u201d he said. \u201cI vibed with them and they were funny. Fuck, they were funny fucking people. I don\u2019t know what to tell you. I had a good time.\u201d And he had a good friend in O\u2019Brien. \u201cI love doing the podcast, man, and I appreciate you having me on, especially during all of this bullshit. You are a real friend, dude.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe live episode is out now for SiriusXM Podcasts+ subscribers<\/a> and will be available widely on Oct. 15.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBurr during SiriusXM presents Conan O\u2019Brien Needs a Friend Live.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for SiriusXM)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tGuests line up outside Hollywood\u2019s Fonda Theatre on Oct. 5, 2025. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for SiriusXM)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMatt Gourley, Sona Movsesian and Conan O\u2019Brien share the stage. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for SiriusXM)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tO\u2019Brien performed to close out the show. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t(Photo by Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for SiriusXM)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Conan O\u2019Brien and the crew from his SiriusXM podcast took over Hollywood\u2019s Fonda Theatre on Sunday night for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209368,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[107525,16237,88,55676,16238,131],"class_list":{"0":"post-209367","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-bill-burr","9":"tag-conan-obrien","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-kevin-hart","12":"tag-marc-maron","13":"tag-saudi-arabia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209367"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209367\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}