Rob Schneider: When People Walk Out of Shows He’s “Doing It Right”
Long-time Holywood comedian Rob Schneider isn’t afraid of ruffling a few feathers.
During the screening of Adam Sandler’s new stand-up show Love You, the controversial celebrity stood up for free speech. Schneider said he doesn’t mind it when audiences yell or walk out on him—two things that have been known to happen in some of his performances.
When a gossip publication asked if such reactions make him want to change his act, he answered, “I’m doing it right.”
He explained, “The thing about free speech is, free speech is all speech. Free speech isn’t for the nice stuff. It isn’t for the socially acceptable stuff. Free speech is the speech that challenges you. Free speech is the not-nice stuff. Easy speech or speech that’s acceptable to everybody doesn’t need any protection. I’m there to challenge the audience.”
Schneider’s shows in Canada have become known for offending some audience members. Last June, the 60-year-old was doing a comedy sketch for the Canadian-based Hospitals of Regina Foundation.
When attendees began leaving the room, the Saturday Night Live alum was asked to cut his set short and leave the stage.
The nonprofit later washed its hands of the controversial performance by saying, “We do not condone, accept, endorse or share Mr. Schneider’s positions, as expressed during his comedy set, and acknowledge that in this instance, the performance did not meet the expectations of our audience and our team.”
It went on to apologize on behalf of the Deuce Bigalow star: “An unconditional apology was offered right after to our guests and our community. We reiterate this sincere and unconditional apology today, for any offense caused by Mr. Schneider’s recent comedy set, at the Four Seasons Ball.”
Schneider reasoned that the country is “under a repressive regime where they call protesters terrorists.”
Referring to the prime minister as a terrorist, he said, “I’m very proud that I didn’t bow to that dictatorship that Trudeau is doing, and I’m happy to be one of those people that pissed them off.”
He boldly added, “And I’ll do it again if I get the chance, but I don’t think they’ll let me in anytime soon.”
The celebrity said he doesn’t mind if people are offended by him. “People get upset about things now. And that’s OK,” Schneider told The Hollywood Reporter.
Schneider elaborated, “I think the more challenging the comedy is and society is, the more interesting the stand-up and art is going to be. When everything’s smooth, art is boring. So the ’90s could have been kind of boring, but this is a good time now, and it’s a challenging time.”
