Rob Schneider Controversy: Why The SNL Star Was Kicked Off-Stage At A Fundraiser
Back in the day, Rob Schneider was best known for a number of things: His "Saturday Night Live" stint, his various cameos in Adam Sandler movies as the "You Can Do It!" guy, and solo vehicles such as "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo." These days, however, the actor-comedian seems to be gaining more notoriety for his controversial opinions, which were on full display when he was pulled from a fundraising event in Canada on June 1, 2024.
As reported by CBC, Schneider's performance at the Hospital of Regina Foundation's Four Seasons Ball event at the Conexus Arts Centre was cut short after he cracked a series of jokes that targeted women and the LGBTQ+ community and underscored his anti-vaccination views. One attendee, Tynan Allan, told the outlet that he was one of several people at the event who were disgusted or unimpressed by Schneider's brand of humor. "Everyone in the room was groaning, saying, 'What is going on?' Like whispering to themselves. Not a single laugh at times," he noted.
Several Redditors who attended also went into specifics about Schneider's offensive jokes. "He jumped into how [Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau made everyone get numerous vaccines and called it a 'scam-demic' with no real punchline," wrote u/StencilBoy. The user also observed that when Schneider wasn't attacking transgender people or mocking vaccination drives, his jokes were painfully dated and unfunny. "He harped on how 'wives/women' do XYZ and Men have to put up with it. Typical old school and overdone 'being married sucks' schtick and obviously offensive but still kind of tame compared to the other stuff," they continued.
The Hospitals of Regina Foundation later released a statement apologizing for the performance and emphasizing that it does not agree with what the "SNL" alum said during his divisive set.
Schneider's anti-vax and anti-woke views are no secret
While Rob Schneider isn't one of those actors who lost out on a role for not being vaccinated, his anti-vax stance is well-documented. In July 2021, just as countless movies and TV shows were getting delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the actor took to X, formerly known as Twitter, asking his followers to stay unvaccinated despite the increasing availability of COVID-19 jabs. "Just say no...And keep saying no...Over Half of the US population is continuing to say no to this unapproved experimental gene therapy!" Schneider wrote, concluding his post with an empathic "My Body, My Choice!" To no one's surprise, Schneider's tweet got several incredulous responses as he continued to post misinformation about vaccines and/or their effects on people.
As seen at the Regina event, Schneider's anti-vax views largely haven't changed in post-pandemic times. The fundraiser also marked the second time in recent years that the former "Saturday Night Live" star had a performance abbreviated due to inappropriate jokes. In April 2024, Politico reported that Schneider's set at a Republican event in late 2023 was cut short at just 10 minutes because of its highly offensive content, which included "raunchy" jokes and racist ones aimed at Asian people.
When speaking to TMZ, however, the actor claimed the report was false. "I'm not changing my material or apologizing for my jokes to anybody," he fumed. "Enough with this woke bulls***, America's sick of it. 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."