UFC CEO Dana White stands as a staunch advocate for free speech. He adamantly opposes the rise of extreme wokeness and cancel culture perpetuated by liberal circles.
Recently at The Roast of Tom Brady, White’s stance on free speech took center stage when he delivered a controversial joke about the transgender community during his set on Netflix.
Comedian Andrew Schulz is a close friend of both White and Joe Rogan. He recently provided insights into the backstage conversation that led to the controversial joke.
During the preparations for The Roast of Tom Brady, Dana White reached out to Andrew Schulz to seek his opinion on a few jokes intended for the event. Schulz recounted White’s candidness in sharing his jokes, including one aimed at the transgender community.
He stated on his podcast: “Dana [White] hits me up, he’s like, ‘Hey, man, can I run these, can I just run this by you because I just need you to know what you think,’ and he runs a couple jokes by me and they’re funny…But the one about the trans, ‘My name is Dana, is that trans enough for you, liberal [ __ ]?’ he says it to me, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know if that’s going to go over.’… And I’m like, ‘I just don’t know if it’s going to get the big laughs,’ and then he goes, ‘Oh, I don’t care about that, I just want them to know I don’t give a f*ck.”
It’s interesting that Andrew Schulz said White had some humorous jokes as well. Nevertheless, White wanted to make a point rather than be funny. White’s unapologetic demeanor garnered praise from those who admired his commitment to free expression, while others criticized the joke as insensitive or offensive.
Notably, White himself became a target of the roasting. Schulz made fun of Dana White for underpaying Brazilian contenders. White also was likened by comedian Jeff Ross to Michael Vick, the notorious NFL player who operated an illegal dog ring.
The UFC CEO was present at the event along with BMF and bantamweight champions Max Holloway and Sean O’Malley.