Bill Burr's opening monologue on 'SNL' draws praise, backlash on social media (2024)

"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: