Saturday Night Live alum Rob Schneider is refusing to apologize after recent reports claimed that his stand-up routine was cut short at a holiday gala in 2023 after Republican lawmakers found it “off-color and off-putting.”
“I’m not changing my material or apologizing for my jokes to anybody. Enough with this woke bulls‑‑‑. America’s sick of it,” Schneider told TMZ.
Politico reports that Schneider was meant to perform a half-hour comedy set at the gala until Senate Working Group executive director James Kimmey cut off his set within just ten minutes. Sources who were present at the gala or were familiar with the event claim that Schneider’s “raunchy” routine took aim at Asian people and made a joke about “Korean whore-houses.” The comedian allegedly agreed to keep his set clean, but it seems that the routine was anything but.
Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith reportedly walked out during the event. A spokesperson for the politician told Politico, “She didn’t have to listen to it and so she got up and left.”
The attendees received an apology the next day.
“While we do our best to ensure every aspect of our program is professional, courteous, and appropriate, we sincerely regret that the entertainment at last night’s program fell short of that goal,” read an email that was sent to guests the next day.
Schneider denied that his set was cut off after ten minutes, telling TMZ, “I did 50 minutes because that’s what I was paid to do. Nobody removed me from stage, somebody waved to me at the 50-minute mark.”
He also noted that many of the “raunchy” jokes that he made that evening were pulled from his Netflix special Asian Momma, Mexican Kids.
The outlet reports that he “happily” took the $50,000 he was offered for the evening.
But he claimed that number has been “devaluated by 26% over the last three years” because of Joe Biden.
