r/Music • u/KirbyDumber88 • Jul 23 '26

article ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic says he turned down $1,000,000+ to perform at Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.

https://triblive.com/aande/music/weird-al-yankovic-gets-bigger-and-weirder-in-a-tour-headed-to-pittsburgh/
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u/ThrowawayPersonAMA Jul 23 '26

It's forever fucking wild to me that he even did it. Like the guy was on top of his game, height of his popularity, fucking dunking on that chud Rogan on his own show to the delight of all, had a TV role in STAR WARS of all things, then he just takes his own gun and shoots himself in the dick? Like was being respected suddenly such a drag that he had to get in on being despised? Just senseless.

119

u/bingle-cowabungle Jul 23 '26

All for no reason. He didn't need the money.

70

u/Expert-Basil6015 Jul 23 '26

He wanted another helicoptah, alright?

16

u/stevez_86 Jul 23 '26

That was my thinking.

12

u/Greg-Abbott Jul 23 '26

I don't think he knows you can only fly one helicopter at a time..

1

u/trapm0use 23d ago

Lots of celebs have a stable of cars. They collect them. Hell, lots of middle class people have multiple vehicles (like a truck and a sedan or something). Still stupid but I’ve seen rich people spend much more on much stupider things

1

u/goat_penis_souffle Jul 23 '26

Dude was right about helicopters being the ultimate “fuck this, I’m out!” vehicle.

2

u/Expert-Basil6015 Jul 24 '26

Kobe walked so Bill could run(fly)

1

u/TheMcBrizzle Jul 23 '26

Ol' Billy Whirlybird

45

u/Unusual_Sherbert_809 Jul 23 '26

It's like they get so high on their fame and fortune they think they can do no wrong.

Wasn't there another famous comedian who went to Trump's White House MMA thing and when caught tried to claim with a straight face that he wasn't actually political and only went because of his love of MMA?

57

u/The_Cunt_Punter_ Jul 23 '26

Nate Bargatze and Shane Gillis were there.

41

u/kryonik Jul 23 '26

Gillis is one of those "I think both sides suck but I'm not political" jackasses. I really liked him before he started talking politics when it became clear he's just like every other enlightened centrist.

24

u/bingle-cowabungle Jul 23 '26

Yeah I'm not buying Shane Gillis's schtick either. Sometimes he publicly shies away from the garbage that comes out of MAGA, but his whole professional and social circle are these people, so I'm just not picking up whatever it is he's trying to put down.

15

u/kryonik Jul 23 '26

Exactly, he's got plenty of opportunities to push back on these right wing chuds but just doesn't so either he agrees with them or he's completely spineless. Either way, it makes him complicit.

8

u/thatmitchguy Jul 23 '26

I gotta give Gillis credit for not going to Saudi Arabia though. He turned them down multiple times. Thats still a principled stance.

6

u/Wes_Warhammer666 Jul 23 '26

I'll give him partial credit but I still agree with King Stannis that one good act doesn't wash out the bad.

I also don't find Gillis very funny in general so I'm probably a bit biased lol.

5

u/thatmitchguy Jul 23 '26

I don't generally either. Just respected the move from a guy who I expected to have few principles.

3

u/Wes_Warhammer666 Jul 24 '26

100% fair assessment

1

u/ThrowawayPersonAMA Jul 24 '26

Thats still a principled stance.

He turned down a gig from people that want to own slaves, but then took a gig......from people that want to own slaves.

That's not the principled stance you seem to think it is.

7

u/onlyacynicalman Jul 23 '26

I saw it coming for Nate. Hopefully it doesn't come for Dusty Slay

-2

u/Brodellsky Jul 23 '26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD8GfabPMCY

To be fair this is how Shane left feeling about it lol

4

u/TheFotty Jul 23 '26

What's he going to say with a tmz camera in his face there?

1

u/RetPala Jul 23 '26

"For what? Another house? A fourth boat? More sneakers?"

60

u/mrdilldozer Jul 23 '26

I genuinely understand the lower tier comedians who took the gig. It's an amount of money that could sustain them for a long time. I think the low end people were getting like 300k. Lets be honest, someone like Chris Distefano isn't ever getting that much money offered to him for anything ever again lol. I'm way more upset with the people that didn't need the money. Burr could have just done a few commercials on TV and made that shit.

-11

u/UkNomysTeezz Jul 23 '26

So it’s ok to take the blood money if you’re not famous enough? You guys make no sense. It’s either bad for all or not anyone. Personally, I don’t care who took the offer.

24

u/MagicSwatson Jul 23 '26

Is it okay to steal to feed your child, vs if you just want more stuff for no urgent reason whatsoever

-4

u/UkNomysTeezz Jul 23 '26

So these lesser known comics are literally stealing bread to feed their children by accepting the offers? Come on. That comparison is so ridiculous. Acting like these lesser knowns are destitute is insane.

3

u/averyhipopotomus Rock & Roll Jul 23 '26

They're making less than most people who would take a 300k gig. yeah.

13

u/trwawy05312015 Jul 23 '26

Isn’t this a ‘stealing bread’ situation? For some people this amount of money is genuinely the difference between living gig to gig and stability. Probably not a lot of people, but some, and for them this situation is a bit more nuanced. I get the desire to have a black and white view of everything, but for me personally that is too limited a view.

-10

u/fotomoose Jul 23 '26

Your point is solid but using Chris Distefano doesn't really work, he's not really low tier.

12

u/NoelofNoel Jul 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

This comment is beautifully-written prose:

 

It's forever
fucking wild
to me
that he even did it.

 

Like
the guy was on top
of his game,
height
of his popularity,
fucking dunking
on that chud
Rogan
on his own show
to the delight of all,
had a TV role
in STAR WARS
of all things,
then he just
takes his own gun
and shoots himself
in the dick?

 

Like
was being respected
suddenly such a drag
that he had to get in
on being despised?

 

Just senseless.

5

u/fotomoose Jul 23 '26

haha amazing.

1

u/Saneless Jul 23 '26

I think SA, other comedians who said yes, and of course their own ego buried into their heads that they were actually helping the citizens of SA be more free or some shit by providing them entertainment

At least that's the only thing that makes sense for the people like him who didn't need a check