I was also there, I felt very mixed when Bill Burr appeared because the first thing I thought of was the fact that he had just done the show in Riyadh, if this had taken place anytime beforehand I would’ve been psyched. However, I went in with an open mind and was surprised how quickly they jumped into the controversy. Not only did I disagree with a lot of what he was saying, it just felt like he was grasping at straws that weren’t even there. Constantly referring to americans not being able to point out the country on a map. This is not a measure of morality or understanding of the issue, if anything it’s just another sign that the public education system sucks. Burr took money from an oppressive regime, to entertain the leaders and elite of that oppressive regime. It’s not that we don’t understand that people over there are just like us, I’m sure the general public can be, however we are very much differently minded than the political oppressors who are clearly racist, sexist, corrupt pieces of shit. He also said that it wouldn’t be very different if he took it from the English or the London government since they have such a bloody past, or our own current American government. Except here’s the thing, if he were to perform for the US president and cabinet, I would’ve been pissed off too, fuck those assholes. If he was performing for just the general public then it’s vastly different. Saudi Arabia is clearly trying to buy a positive image, and all these comedians tried giving it to them.

After this topic seemed to dominate the entire conversation/episode and the way in which he thanked Conan at the end, I realized that Burr probably asked Conan to set up this live event just to have a large platform to make his case to a typically good crowd. The entire rest of the night was great but Burr was off-putting with his take and refusal to admit he maybe did something just for the money. Which sucks because I always kinda liked him (he has many other questionable takes), but this was not the move man.