Comedian Bill Burr hosted Saturday Night Live for his first time over the weekend, and used the opportunity to deliver the edgiest jokes told on the show in decades.
The veteran stand-up used his monologue to take on cancel culture, wearing masks during coronavirus, Woke white women, and gay pride month. This guy is daring Leftists to try to cancel him.
Here is the joke that has been getting the most attention:
“The Woke movement was supposed to be about people of color not getting opportunities, the at-bats that they deserved, finally making that happen, and it was that for about 8 seconds, and then somehow, white women swung their Gucci-booted feet over the fence of oppression and stuck themselves at the front of the line. I don’t know how they did it,” Burr said.
“Let’s go back in history here, okay? You guys stood by us toxic white males through centuries of our crimes against humanity, you rolled around in the blood money, and occasionally when you wanted to sneak off and hook up with the black dude, if you got caught you said it wasn’t consensual.”
Watch the entire routine:
Burr was beaming throughout the entire monologue like he was genuinely having a lot of fun. And it was clear he felt free to make the joke he wanted to make.
It’s something that fans of his Monday Morning Podcast have seen coming. On the Aug. 17 episode, a dour Burr said that he felt like he’s been unconsciously censoring himself, but that he intended to make jokes again regardless of the consequences.
READ MORE: Bill Burr says comedy is being ruined by people taking offense; pledges to speak his mind
Then on the Aug. 27 podcast episode, Burr said that he was going to let loose during upcoming performances and make whatever jokes he wants to make, because he was tired of feeling censored.
“I’m going to go off, because I want the freedom that I had, that I used to have as a comedian where I could just say whatever the fuck I wanted to say,” Burr said. “I really want to get back to that. I don’t know – I’m telling jokes – I mean, what’s the worst-case scenario? They end my acting career that doesn’t really exist? Boo-hoo then I just do a podcast and do standup. I mean that’s kind of a great existence.”
There was a time when being a comedian was dangerous, but today comedians like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel perform for clapture (when an audience claps in agreement rather than just laughing because a joke is funny) and SNL frequently offers thinly veiled political advocacy masquerading as comedy. The recent cold open featuring the vice presidential debate was basically campaigning for Democrats. Hopefully Burr’s SNL performance reminds other comics that comedy is supposed to be risky.
READ MORE: Mansplaining the vice-presidential debate
Following his SNL performance, Burr talked about the experience on the Oct. 12 episode of his Monday Morning Podcast: “It’s the most exciting, fun gig I’ve ever done since I got into show business. I still can’t believe that I got to do it, I still can’t believe that it went that well. And um, I just can’t believe how fun it was because I was so fucking nervous.”
“I ended up having the best time,” Burr said.
He also talked about how he learns about comedy from watching musicians, and he understands what it means to not play the “butter notes.”
“I know what that means, comedically. That means go on stage and say what the fuck you want to say, don’t ask the crowd if it’s funny, tell’em it’s funny, they don’t like it, fuck’em. That’s what it is. And also, take risks, get outside your comfort zone.”
In response to the anger some people expressed following Bill Burr’s SNL performance, fellow stand-up comedian Michelle Wolf asked on Twitter, “Why would you get mad at someone for making fun of white women? It’s really fun to do.”
Michelle Wolf is another comic not afraid to tell jokes.
Damn funny opening on SNL. What a rarity these days!
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The audience had a very high “woke” coefficient. The laughter had a strained, nervous quality. You are always afraid to laugh in The People’s Republic when you are not sure what the official party position is on that joke. You could arrive at work on Monday and find yourself fired because someone reported you for laughing at an unapproved joke.
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