Andrew Schulz recently addressed the controversy surrounding comedians performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. He explained why Bill Burr was criticized while his own podcast received minimal backlash for the same event.
During the podcast episode, Schulz pointed out a key difference between himself and Burr: “Here’s the thing. I think to that point, a lot of our audience is like either immigrants or kids of immigrants, and I think they’re kind of like at least traveled in the sense that they know kind of how the rest of the world works.” This cultural awareness within his fanbase, he argued, shielded him from the criticism that Burr faced.
Schulz was more direct about Burr’s predicament, noting the comedian’s history of virtue signaling. “B is getting all this push back and it’s like the first time I’ve seen his career him not like aware of why it’s happening,” Schulz observed. He explained that Burr had previously criticized Beyoncé for performing in oil states for “blood money,” yet accepted the same opportunity himself. “You did say that Beyonce sold out for blood money for going to like an oil state and then you went to an oil state.”
The Flagrant host emphasized that while Burr technically acknowledged he might do the same thing in that clip, the apparent hypocrisy gave critics ammunition. Schulz also pointed to Burr’s frequent complaints about billionaires and wealth inequality as further evidence of inconsistency. “All the talk about billionaires and how they shouldn’t exist,” combined with accepting a lucrative overseas gig, made Burr an easy target.
Schulz contrasted this with his own approach: “We’ve never been the virtue signaling type. We’ve never been the ones out here like there are people that getting push back and like based on some that they had said in the past, I kind of get it.” He argued that because Flagrant never positioned itself as morally superior or politically righteous, their audience had no expectations to violate.
“You can go perform for your fans wherever they are in the world. I will go perform for my fans wherever they are on the whole planet,” he declared. He dismissed concerns about performing in countries with different values, arguing that citizens don’t choose where they’re born or the laws they live under.
