Rob Schneider is defending his comedy after being asked to end his set early during a fundraiser in June.
Audience members at a fundraiser for the Hospitals of Regina Foundation in Canada left in protest, many of them “yelling” at Schneider for what they considered to be controversial remarks.
The comedian (who is also singer Elle King’s father) believes that that kind of disapproval is an indication he’s “doing it right.”
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“The thing about free speech is, free speech is all speech. Free speech isn’t for the nice stuff. It isn’t for the socially acceptable stuff. Free speech is the speech that challenges you,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the premiere of his pal Adam Sandler’s Netflix comedy special in New York.
“Free speech is the not-nice stuff. Easy speech or speech that’s acceptable to everybody doesn’t need any protection. I’m there to challenge the audience,” he explained.
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Schneider, argued that “challenging” comedy is what indicates if you’re successful or not.
“People get upset about things now. And that’s OK,” Schneider added. “I think the more challenging the comedy is and society is, the more interesting the stand-up and art is going to be.”
“When everything’s smooth, art is boring. So the ’90s could have been kind of boring, but this is a good time now, and it’s a challenging time.”
Schneider also talked to the outlet about how “lovely” it is that Sandler, his friend and fellow comedian, “always includes me.” He told The Hollywood Reporter Sandler called him, asked him to “come out here,” and “the next thing you know” Schneider was performing with him for his “Love You” comedy special.
Sandler and Schneider have co-starred in a number of movies together over the years, including “Grown Ups,” “The Waterboy,” and “Big Daddy.”
