Comedian Rob Schneider said he is tired of “woke bullshit” following a report stating he had to cut a comedy set short due to inappropriate jokes and after one Republican lawmaker walked out of the appearance.
“I’m not changing my material or apologizing for my jokes to anybody. Enough with this woke bullshit. America’s sick of it,” Schneider told TMZ.
A set Schneider delivered in 2023 at a holiday gala was cut short after he made “raunchy” jokes, including some aimed at Asian people, according to a Politico report. Attendees included the Senate Working Group, other GOP Capitol Hill staff, local alumni and individuals in the corporate world.
Politico’s report stated Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) walked out during Schneider’s performance because it was “gross and vulgar.”
“She didn’t have to listen to it and so she got up and left,” a spokesperson for the Senator told Politico.
The Hill has reached out to Hyde-Smith’s office for comment.
James Kimmey, executive director for the Senate Working Group, told the outlet that Schneider’s set was supposed to last at least 30 minutes, but Kimmey stopped it within 10 minutes after Schneider made the inappropriate jokes.
Kimmey sent an email apologizing to the approximately 150 attendees the next day, saying the group sincerely regrets “that the entertainment at last night’s program fell short” of their goal to be “professional, courteous, and appropriate.”
Schneider challenged Politico’s reporting and said he delivered a 50-minute set.
“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 said.
Schneider, who has backed independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told TMZ that he happily took the $50,000 he was offered to perform at the event.
He added that his joke about “Korean whore-houses” was included in his Netflix special and event organizers knew what they would be getting from the former “Saturday Night Live” actor when hiring him for the event.
The Hill has reached out to Schneider’s team for comment.