"Saturday Night Live" host Bill Burr raised some eyebrows with his opening monologue this weekend, drawing criticism and praise across social media for his controversial material. Burr’s opening monologue tackled everything from anti-maskers to cancel culture, from wokeness to Gay Pride Month.
Burr began his monologue by respecting anti-maskers’ decision not to cover up during the COVID-19 epidemic, encouraging those people to “take out your grandparents, take out your weak cousin with the asthma,” if they’re willing to be ignorant about the pandemic.
He then mentioned actor Rick Moranis, who was randomly punched in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York City, proclaiming, "New York is back, baby!"
Burr added, "We lost our x-factor for a minute. City started looking like giant Bed, Bath and Beyond. Then... bam! Old Ricky took one in the chops."
On cancel culture, he joked, “They’re literally running out of people to cancel. They’re going after dead people now,” referring to John Wayne.
“It’s like, yeah, he was born in 1907. That’s what these people sounded like. You never talked to your grandparents and brought up the wrong subject and then all of a sudden it went off the rails?"
Next, he made a point to speak about woke culture and how he thinks white women have co-opted the movement. “It should’ve been about people of color. ... Somehow white women swung their Gucci-footed feet over the fence of oppression and stuck themselves at the front of the line,” he said.
Burr's monologue concluded by asking the audience why gay people get a whole month for Pride, especially since they are "a group of people who were never enslaved."
“How did they get all of June? Dude, Black people were actually enslaved," he said. "They get February. They get 28 days of overcast weather, sun goes down at 4 in the afternoon, everyone is shivering, no one wants to go on the parade. Look, how about you hook ‘em up with July? These are equator people. Give them the sun for 31 days!”
The monologue on Saturday began trending on Twitter, with people either loving his jokes — or condemning his monologue and "Saturday Night Live" for booking him.
"I know this guy killed it because EVERYONE is offended," wrote one person. "The conservatives are in the comments mad, the liberals are mad. Every comment is angry. Rolling on the floor laughing Can the non-sensitive people all just get together and start our own country?"
"How about you NOT pick hosts who say things like 'Gays weren’t enslaved' Even if his 'joke' is to point out Black people suffered more," tweeted another. "Help him search 'Stonewall' and 'Matthew Shephard.' And not pick ones who say 'My b*tches' about any women."
"Just when I thought I couldn't love Bill Burr enough..." said one person on YouTube.
Another added, "Brilliant. He is a COMEDIAN, not a schoolteacher, politician or clergyman. He is not here for inspiration or leadership he is here to make us laugh. Keep it up Bill."
Here are 12 more reactions to Bill Burr's opening monologue:
Did Bill Burr really just say that? Calling Black folks "equator people," White women "b--ches" and claiming he never heard of Pride Month. #SNL please do better pic.twitter.com/Y6VrNAHg8H
— Anita Bennett (@tvanita) October 11, 2020
I’m noticing how uncomfortable white people are about Bill Burr’s monologue. I’m also noticing how black people are comfortable as hell observing it. #snl pic.twitter.com/r98h0kuKSL
— Ty Smith (@AFan_ofTruth) October 11, 2020
Shout out to Bill Burr for telling the truth about white feminism. Because nobody listened to all the Black people saying this for decades.
— Torraine Walker (@TorraineWalker) October 11, 2020
When I see dumb reactions like this it tells me SNL had one of those now rare episodes, once every like 5 years, where they have a real person host so it may actually be funny and worth watching the rerun. Bill Burr rules also pic.twitter.com/cI1yBK5Zh7
— K-Nic (@WildebeestThe) October 11, 2020
Same people who reject “political correctness” are now complaining about Bill Burr speaking facts. You don’t hate “political correctness” you just don’t like having to accept reality
— B. W. Carlin (@BaileyCarlin) October 11, 2020
— Bill Corbett (@BillCorbett) October 11, 2020I’m older than Bill Burr. Similar enough background - him, Boston Irish-Catholic. Me, Brooklyn Irish-Catholic.
I’ve known about Pride Week forever.
It’s just weird, playacting a cranky older Boomer / Greatest Generation character when you’re obviously not one.
Bill Burr is trash and has always been trash. Not because he doesn’t raise valid criticisms in some of his comedy, but because he has always leveraged his ability to point them out to the detriment of change and the benefit of himself, and he can fuck off into the sun for it.
— feminist next door (@emrazz) October 11, 2020
Checking the Bill Burr trending tab and seeing it literally being 50% black people laughing at him making fun of white women and 50% white women mad at him for making fun of white women pic.twitter.com/EBhGi65tUm
— (spooky) laine (@lainefoxworthy) October 11, 2020
Bill Burr's opening monologue is just obnoxious and misogynstic. It's 2020. Someone tell him calling women "bitches" isn't funny #SNL
— Skylar Baker-Jordan (@SkylarJordan) October 11, 2020
It’s amazing Bill Burr is trying to be woke while being a misogynist POS. White Male Privilege is strong within this Louis CK clone. #SNL 🤦♀️
— 𝙱𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚎𝚄𝚙𝙱𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚞𝚙‼️ (@Veronicaromm) October 11, 2020
— Cedric A Phillips (@CedricAPhillips) October 11, 2020Just listened to Bill Burr's opening monologue on SNL, then checked the Bill Burr hashtag on Twitter.
CLEARLY it was the first Bill Burr experience for some people. Because a lot of people are BIG MAD right now. pic.twitter.com/Igwseedxvc
bill burr is cool bc he’s funny but also doesn’t say ‘triggered’ or whine constantly if people are offended or whatever
— raandy (@randygdub) October 11, 2020
Alexander Kacala is a reporter and editor atTODAY Digitaland NBC OUT. He loves writing about pop culture, trending topics, LGBTQ issues, style and all things drag. His favorite celebrity profiles include Cher — who said their interview was one of the most interesting of her career — as well as Kylie Minogue, Candice Bergen, Patti Smith and RuPaul. He is based in New York City and his favorite film is “Pretty Woman.”