Bill Burr used his newest Monday Morning Podcast episode to handle mounting criticism surrounding his current look on the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia. The comic spent the primary a number of minutes of the Oct. 6, 2025, present explaining why he felt the outrage was misplaced, whereas additionally venting about how his phrases have been being reshaped on-line.

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Actor and comic Zach Woods had earlier taken to TikTok in late September. He criticized American comics for becoming a member of the competition, which was backed by Saudi Arabia’s leisure authority.

Burr opened by acknowledging the flood of questions he had obtained.

“You guys are asking me, obviously, a ton of questions about the absolute controversy, right? Here’s the deal. I would love—I have no problem answering any of them. The problem I have is, after I answer them, it all gets clipped. And then once it gets clipped, then the lies start getting told.”

“The sanctimonious is sanctimonian”

According to Burr, a lot of what was being circulated didn’t match actuality. “So like these stories of like, ‘There was no women there, he just performed to the Royals.’”

“By the time they’re done with this sh*t, they’re going to say I went over there and did a one-on-one show in a f*cking tent staring at my toes,” he stated. He insisted that the occasion had drawn 8,000 folks, together with Saudi residents and diplomats.

Burr identified that the restrictions on comics had really narrowed throughout negotiations.

“They had diplomats sitting down front in a nerve-wracking way for the performer to make sure that, you know, you didn’t talk about the two or three things that they said that they negotiated down to not talk about.”

“Once again, as I said before, whoever put together the comedy festival and everything, what it did for freedom of speech over there… Because like before it started, you couldn’t talk about all of this stuff, and then they whittled it down to just that. And that is how you know if you truly care about stuff like that. You gradually move towards something more positive.”

He additionally praised one other comic, with out naming them, who had carried out whereas brazenly homosexual.

Burr recounted the performer’s daring transfer, after they requested a pair of diplomats who stood up in the midst of their set, “Hey, where are you going? Are you going to go on Grindr?” He famous, “I mean, I’ve seen them all. I’ve never seen anybody—It’s like, I don’t have the balls to say that.”

Burr pushes again on critics

Burr argued that a lot of the criticism had extra to do with on-line efficiency than with the competition itself, contrasting the scrutiny positioned on comics with the silence round bigger company occasions within the area.

“What everybody’s complaining about was on TV the week before, on a different event, and nobody said anything,” he argued. “So, you know, and that’s the difference between being a billion-dollar conglomerate and being an independent contractor.”

He additionally mocked the conduct of people that criticized him on-line however acted in another way in individual. “And then when you run into the person face-to-face, this is what’s always said. ‘Hey, man, hey, man. Hey man, how’s it going, man? Just checking in on you, man. Are you doing okay, man?’”

Fans and critics on his Instagram submit concerning the podcast weren’t sympathetic in direction of Burr’s look on the competition.

“Your legacy is now Riyadh. That’s it,” reads one of many high feedback.

Folks additionally took to his most up-to-date Instagram submit—an unrelated video discussing the Chiefs—to voice their disapproval.

“Bill Burr was one of my favorites…the Saudi sell out stuff is so disappointing,” reads one of many feedback. “Why you going to Saudi Arabia, Bill?” reads one other.

“Enjoying the comments, Bill? Did the Saudi Royals pat you on the head for the nice job you did?” requested a 3rd.

X was no extra forgiving. “This is such nonsense from Bill Burr,” wrote @sarahemclaugh in response to his assertion. “‘The royals loved the show.’ Yeah, buddy, that’s since you didn’t carry out any materials that challenged the Saudi authorities or its censorship!

“Listening to Bill Burr explain himself about the Saudi stuff is hilarious,” added @HubPointless. “His story is that he thought the Saudis were gonna scream ‘Death to America’ or something and was impressed they had a Burger King and Starbucks.”

Burr closed the podcast intro by noting once more that he had carried out in entrance of “8,000 citizens,” together with girls within the viewers. “But just remember, there was women at the show, four hotties down front, faces were not covered, smoke shows down front.” 

The comic additionally referenced Saudi Arabia’s tense political local weather, saying comics had carried out in a rustic “that had just been hit by two f*cking missiles, three missiles, whatever the f*ck it was.”

Burr maintained that he was open to questions, however he resisted giving simple soundbites.

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