Bill Burr Gives Explicit, 2-Word Response to Riyadh Comedy Festival Critics

Men’s Journal aims to feature only the best products and services.  If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.

Bill Burr has never been afraid to express his very honest opinions on a topic. And when it comes to people who are criticizing his decision to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, he is making his thoughts on the matter incredibly clear. 

On Sunday night, Conan O’Brien hosted a live episode of his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, with Burr as his secret guest. But it was immediately clear to the audience, which included The Hollywood Reporter, that the comedian probably wasn’t banking on just how many headlines his name would be making when he agreed to join O’Brien for a live chat. 

When O’Brien teased that it had been an eventful week for Burr, he responded with a sarcastic: “It’s been f***ing fantastic.”

Burr was one of approximately 50 top-tier comedians who made the trip to Saudi Arabia for the first-ever Riyadh Comedy Festival, which also featured sets from the likes of Dave Chappelle, Pete Davidson, Aziz Ansari, Kevin Hart, Whitney Cummings, and Jeff Ross as well as Louis C.K. The event was met with outrage by many, including big comedy names like Marc Maron and David Cross, who denounced the country’s long history of censorship and human rights abuses. 

After speaking about the experience on the September 30th edition of his own podcast, calling the event “a mind-blowing experience. Definitely top three experiences I’ve had,” and noting that he believes “it’s going to lead to a lot of positive things,” Burr was out of niceties by the time his sit-down with O’Brien occurred. 

A defiant Burr explained his position, saying: “The general consensus is, ‘How dare you go to that place and make those oppressed people laugh, you f***ing piece of s**t. I can’t believe you went to that place. I can’t find it on a map, and this bot said I was upset about it so now I am.'”

“It’s one thing to wear clothes made by sweatshop labor,” Burr continued. “It’s quite another to go to the factory and make ’em laugh. I can’t believe how much anger I had about this issue after it went viral.”

Burr Delivers a Fiery, Two-Word Response

As for those critics? He had a NSFW two-word description for them: “Sanctimonious c***s.”

“All of these sanctimonious c***s out there… who don’t really sincerely give a s**t: If you actually give a f**k about those people and how they’re living over there, there’s going to have to be these types of things to pull them in,” he continued. “And I will tell you, the Cheesecake Factory in Riyadh, it’s incredible. It’s right next to Pizza Hut and KFC, and if you want a pair of Timberlands, it’s across the street next to the Marriott, catty-corner to the f***ing Hilton.”