Oct. 2, 2026

Comedy Deep Dive - Bill Burr: The Philly Rant, Patrice O’Neal’s Influence, and a Career Built on Real Anger

Show Notes
Transcript

Johnny Mac argues a 12-minute 2006 Philadelphia clip captures Bill Burr’s career: facing a hostile, drunk crowd after Tracy Morgan and Dom Irrera struggled, Burr delivered a profane takedown of the city and won a standing ovation by being “real,” not performing anger. He traces Burr’s path from Canton, Massachusetts (Emerson College, warehouse job) to Boston standup in 1992, New York in 1995, and the late-’90s NYC scene (Patrice O’Neal, Louis C.K., Dave Attell, Jim Norton) that shaped his honest, less-polished style; Patrice’s philosophy deeply influenced Burr, whose grief after Patrice’s 2011 death was public. The script covers Burr’s 2007 Monday Morning Podcast, All Things Comedy (2012), specials from 2008–2019, his controversial 2020 SNL monologue, 2025 Saudi festival backlash and Burr’s response, acting roles (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian), and his later reflection on anger and his father.

00:25 Philly Rant Breakdown
02:04 Real Anger Explained
02:27 Early Life and Grind
02:55 NYC Scene Influence
03:22 Patrice Friendship Impact
03:56 Patrice Roast Clip
05:41 TV Breakthrough Era
06:23 Patrice Death and Tribute
07:38 Podcast and Network Build
08:40 Specials and Controversies
10:18 Peak Fame and SNL Firestorm
12:16 Saudi Festival Backlash
13:52 Acting Roles Persona
14:34 Anger Evolution Reflection

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WEBVTT

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Caloroga Shark Media.

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It is from 2006 in Philadelphia. You might already know

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where I'm heading. It starts with Bill Burr walking out

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in front of a drunk afternoon crowd that had already

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destroyed everyone who came before him. Tracy Morgan bailed after

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seven minutes. Dom Herrera got booed from the jump and

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the crowd was fully hostile. By the time Bill Burr

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stood up, he was supposed to do a set and

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he didn't. Instead, for 12 minutes, he unloaded on the

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entire city of Philadelphia. The sports teams, the fans, the stadium,

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the culture, the character, the population. It's an escalating, profane,

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furious monologue that went so far and stayed there for

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so long that by the end of it, the crowd

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gave him a standing ovation. He won them over by

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attacking them.

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You don't stop talking, do you? I'll just cook this

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side for a while.

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I'll just.

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Do you know what's funny? I'm cooking my brain talking

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about nothing. I'm just walking around like, yeah, I just

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got a cheeseburger. You know what?

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I hope you all die, and I hope the Eagles

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never win the Super Bowl.

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How's that?

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No, I'm segueing into my next joke.

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You can all relic my friend nuts.

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All of you.

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You can line up in your Harold Carmichael jerseys. People

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on acid. Be up here talking about Hitler. That ain't

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going to work.

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What do you want me to talk about? Throw out

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some topics. Let's talk about heart disease. Something you're all

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going to die of. And I'm going to laugh at

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your funerals.

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It's going to be great.

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You're all going to get cancer, which is fantastic because

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all your heads are shaved anyways.

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No one's even going to notice. You're going to get

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fired for coming.

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To work too late because they're not going to notice

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that you have bone marrow cancer.

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The only thing that's going to give it away is

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me laughing at you in the background.

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You bunch of losers with your cell phone pictures.

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That is the Bill Byrd template. That's the thing he

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figured out in the grinding years. He's not performing anger.

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He wasn't doing an angry character. He was an angry

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person who figured out how to make that anger funny.

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The real thing in the performed versions of anger are

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different objects. Audiences, the good ones anyway, know the difference.

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Philly knew the difference. That's why they gave him the

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standing O. Not because he was nice, because he was real.

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Bill Burr, born in Canton, Massachusetts, June 10th, 1968. He

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graduated from Emerson College in Boston, same school as Jay Leno,

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with a degree in radio. In another life, he could

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be hosting a podcast in a basement. Bill Burr worked

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in a warehouse after graduating, started doing stand-up in Boston

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clubs in 92, moved to New York in 95, and

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spent the rest of the 90s doing the thing you

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do in the city. You get every open mic you can,

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every late spot, every bar show, you hope someone notices you.

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Now we've got to talk about the late 90s New

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York City comedy scene. Patrice O'Neill, Louis C.K., Dave Attell,

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Jim Norton, a specific generation of comedians. There's a vibe there.

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They developed in proximity to each other. argued about comedy

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constantly and pushed each other toward material that was more

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honest and less polished than what the commercial comedy infrastructure

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was asking for. Bill Burr absorbed all that. The anger

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was already there. That comedy scene gave him the framework

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to turn it into something coherent. Bill Burr was friends

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with Patrice O'Neill. I've said on this podcast many times

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that I did not enjoy Patrice O'Neill's company, so I'm

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not going to lie here and say that I never

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said that. But Bill Burr was friends with Patrice O'Neill,

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and that's who we're talking about today. They were close

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friends who argued about everything. Bill Burr said in multiple

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interviews and on the podcast over the year that Patrice

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O'Neill changed the way Bill Burr thought about being honest

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on stage. Not just what to say, but the philosophy

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of why you say the true thing instead of the

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safe thing. Patrice O'Neill believed that performing a softer version

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of your actual beliefs is a form of dishonesty that

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the audience can feel even when they can't articulate it.

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Patrice O'Neill. What I've loved about him is he's fat

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and arrogant.

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It's the oddest combination I've ever seen in my life.

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He refuses to do comedy. He actually feels that he's

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above it. I will not do comedy. Patrice, your whole

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act is perfect for that show. You do 11 minutes,

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you pretend to talk about Russia. And then you do

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52 minutes of pussy jokes. And you won't do comic view?

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I mean, Patricia, you're so comic. You got a deal

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for your own TV show.

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You blew all your money on a pinky ring, a

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used Cadillac, and football jerseys.

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And you won't do comic view? Patricia, you are comic view.

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Why don't you.

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At least get your teeth fixed? Bitch, you have the

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worst teeth in entertainment. None of them match.

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I worked in a dental office for five years. I've

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never seen anybody with a molar in the front. You

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have no business having a headshot. I heard Feller called.

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He wants his old teeth back. Look at the space

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between his front teeth. He looks like a fat 50 Cent.

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I'm just, I gotta.

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Do this thing, I'm getting the most crumbs here.

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Patrice is fat.

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Patrice has that awful fat person bad breath where you

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don't know if the smell's coming from his mouth or

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the folds in his neck.

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Patrice's breath smells worse than Jim Norton's chest.

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I make fun of Patrice. I make fun of Patrice

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only because I'm jealous of his career. Seriously, he's doing great.

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He just booked the lead to the sequel to Mighty

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Joe Young.

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Spielberg got a little TV in the late 90s. Standard stuff.

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Late night with Conan O'Brien, an acting role here or there.

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Some credits. He had this great appearance on Chappelle's show

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in 2004, which put him in front of an audience

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that was paying attention in a big way. Do you

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remember this one?

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All right, coming up now are the Jews. Many have

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speculated about their pick. I'm guessing they're going to pick

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Madonna and finish off the job Kabbalah started.

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Yes, well, Rob, she was born and raised Catholic.

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Then she became a whore.

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But over the last decade, she has studied the Kabbalah.

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And she even wrote a Kabbalah's children's book.

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Chappelle Show audiences didn't just watch. They memorized, quoted, and

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passed the clips around. Being on Chappelle Show in 2004

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was a specific kind of credentialing. When Patrice died in

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November 2011 at 41 years old, Bill Burr's response was

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public and clearly not promotional. He helped organize fundraisers. He

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talked about the loss on the podcast for years. The

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grief was real. The influence was permanent. And you can't

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really understand Bill Burr without understanding Patrice O'Neill.

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Bill's new theater tour kicks off February 21st with six

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shows at the Wilbur Theater in Boston. I swear to God,

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you are hilarious every time I see you. And I

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want to make sure we get this out. The Patrice

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O'Neill benefit is next Tuesday at the New York City Center.

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And this is very important.

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Yeah.

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This is something that you're doing to.

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This is going to raise money for Patrice O'Neill, one

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of the great, great, funniest stand-ups ever.

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Funniest comic I ever saw. Unfortunately, passed away. I'm going

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to try to get through this and.

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It's all right.

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That's all right.

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By doing this, you're going to raise.

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Money for his mom.

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Money for his mom.

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And his wife.

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And this is huge.

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This is huge.

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Patrice O'Neill benefit next Tuesday at the New York City Center.

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You're a hilarious man. More important, you're a very good man.

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Bill Burr, thank you very much.

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You had a great time.

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Bill launched the podcast, Monday Morning Podcast, May 2007. That

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puts it in the same early podcasting era as Marin...

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Whereas Marin's show was about conversations mostly with other comedians,

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Monday Morning Podcast was Bill Burr alone, talking to his audience,

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ranting about sports and relationships and whatever was in his

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head that week.

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Hey!

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What's going on?

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It's Bill Burr.

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This is my podcast.

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And Bobby Kelly set it up.

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Isn't this interesting?

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Listen, I'm going to figure out how to do this thing.

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And if it's already bored, you just hit the stop button.

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The format is essentially the podcast equivalent of the Philadelphia rant.

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It works because Bill's interesting and the voice is genuine.

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It's not the biggest podcast that hasn't redefined the medium,

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but it has kept going. In 2012, Bill Burr founded

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the All Things Comedy Network with Al Madrigal. That's kind

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of the modern template. Comedians building the infrastructure rather than

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waiting for the infrastructure to come to the comedians. It

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gave other comedians a home under the umbrella that Bill

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Burr had already built. Bill's first major special is Why

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Do I Do This? in 2008. voice is already fully

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formed the anger is already doing the structural work and

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you can also see some of the edges still being

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worked out.

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We're gonna end up like china they got like over

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a billion people just just jam-packed every day it's like

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the subway if you just stand there you can't even

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fall asleep just jam-packed you never think about that just

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standing i'm gonna be sitting there.

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First of all how easy is.

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It to get away with the crime over in china

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you know first of all you pick somebody's pocket you

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don't you don't have to run away just weave your

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way back in the crowd stand over here.

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It generated its first wave of criticism from women's groups

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over bits about relationships and violence. Bill addressed it on

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the podcast and then moved on.

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Let's get to the complaints this week, everybody. Some lady

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just absolutely lost her mind.

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That would become a pattern.

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A lot of Bill controversies over the year. 2010's Let

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It Go was tighter and more willing to go somewhere

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uncomfortable and stay there.

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2014's titled, That would become a pattern. A lot of

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bill controversies over the year. 2010's Let It Go was

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tighter and more willing to go somewhere uncomfortable and stay there.

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2014's title tells you everything. It's called I'm Sorry You

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Feel That Way. Now the comedy snobs were paying close attention.

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2017's Walk Your Way Out filmed in Boston, a hometown show.

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Longer at the leash, more personal, and an audience that's

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been with them long enough to take in more setup

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to the jokes than you would do in a room

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full of strangers. Now, it's hard to tell where the

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cutoff is in the Bill Burr stories. The modern discourse

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is about how Bill has lost the anger. We'll get

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to that in a second. And then at some point,

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it felt like Bill Burr became establishment Bill Burr. Is

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it 2019's Paper Tiger filmed at the Royal Albert Hall

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in London? Got a Grammy nomination for best comedy album.

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It's the commercial peak of a standup career, a strong

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piece of work. And here's Bill Burr from Canton, Massachusetts,

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playing the same room as the Beatles. This is Establishment

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Bill Burr. In 2020, his Saturday Night Live monologue during COVID.

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No live audience. And instead of calibrating for the moment,

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he just did his material. The monologue went after white

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women specifically, made arguments about the relative recognition of various

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groups' suffering that no one was expecting from an SNL

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cold open, and landed like a grenade.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Bill Burr!

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I am so excited to be here. These difficult times,

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you guys all look like surgeons with your masks on.

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Makes me feel comfortable that you're wearing masks. I like

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people who wear masks.

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That's good.

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You're listening to the eggheads, the people we all cheated

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off of in high school, right?

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Keep listening to them.

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And then if you don't wear a mask, that doesn't

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bug me either, right? Take out your grandparents, you know?

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Take out your weak cousin with the asthma.

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I don't care.

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It's your decision. There's too many people. It's a dream

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come true. If you're that dumb and you want to

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kill your own family members, by all means, do it.

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Stop you from reproducing. It's literally a dream come true.

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Think pieces came fast. They were numerous hashtag campaigns. None

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of it affected Bill Burr's ticket sales didn't drop. His

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podcast numbers didn't drop. The audience that had been listening

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to Bill Burr on this podcast since 2009 wasn't going

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to stop because David Cross wrote something on social media.

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In 2025, Bill Burr performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival

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in Saudi Arabia. Other performers included Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K.,

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Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Andrew Schultz, and 50 other comedians.

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Human Rights Watch called that festival a whitewashing campaign. Marc

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Maron condemned it publicly. Shane Gillis condemned it. David Cross

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wrote a statement calling out Burr by name. saying he

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was disgusted and deeply disappointed by Bill Burr and arguing

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that comedians who perform for authoritarian governments forfeit the right

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to complain about cancel culture or censorship in the U.S.

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Bill went on the Monday Morning Podcast and then Conan's podcast,

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and in character, he called the critics sanctimonious.

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I think the.

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General consensus is how dare you go to that place

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and make those oppressed people laugh. I can't believe you

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went to that place I can't find on a map

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and this bot said I was upset about it, so.

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Now I am.

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It's one thing to wear clothes made by sweatshop labor.

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It's quite another to go to the factory and make

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them laugh. I can't believe how much anger I had

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about this issue after it went viral.

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So you're here to apologize?

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No.

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Burr said he had no idea it would generate this

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kind of response. Burr said it was one of the

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top three experiences of his life. He said he arrived

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expecting machetes and found an audience that genuinely wanted comedy.

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He told Conan, If it affects my career, I've sat

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at LAX enough in my life. I'll sit home a

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little bit. LAX is actually slightly sadder than Saudi Arabia.

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And that last line is the Bill Burr move. Deflect

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the serious charge with a joke that's funny enough that

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you have to acknowledge that it's funny, even when you

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disagree with him. Bill Burr is also known for some

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acting roles. He was on Breaking Bad as Patrick Kuby

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and on The Mandalorian as Migs Mayfield.

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I'm a survivor just like you.

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Let's get one thing straight. You and I are nothing alike.

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I don't know.

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Seems to me like your rules start to change when

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you get desperate.

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I mean, look at you.

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You said you couldn't take your helmet off, and now

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you've got a stormtrooper one on.

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So what's the rule?

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Those characters work because they're in the neighborhood of the

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Bill Burr in your mind, morally complicated, physically capable, operating

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in worlds where violence is a consideration. Bill Burr is

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a specific person, and the roles that land are the

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ones that find use of his specific persona, rather than

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ask him to disappear into something he doesn't do naturally.

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In recent times, Bill Burr has talked about himself and

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the younger Bill Burr and how the younger Bill Burr

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was angry. Most recently, he did a cover story with

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Rolling Stone magazine where he talked about all that.

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Anger to me was embarrassing because it reminded me of

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my dad who had no control. And I used to

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always be like, I'm not going to be like him.

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And what happens?

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Yeah.

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There you go. You're doing exactly what he was doing.

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So I always felt shame and all of that. I

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hated it. Then what made me hate myself, which made

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me go darker, which made me get angrier because I

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didn't know how to get out of it. It was

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just this spinning down thing.

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Bill Burr has produced a body of work that has

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aged a lot better than a lot of comedy than

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people from that generation because the material is built on

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coherent worldviews. Does Bill Burr still believe in the material?

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We'll have to ask him.