Rob Schneider was “roundly booed” during a recent standup set for a hospital charity event, causing the comedian and well-known vaccine skeptic to end his set early, according to local reports.
The former “Saturday Night Live” cast member was advertised as the main entertainment for The Four Seasons Ball, a sold-out charity event hosted by The Hospitals of Regina Foundation. The event took place last Saturday at the Conexus Arts Centre. Schneider’s set included anti-trans jokes as well as jokes about vaccination policies and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Regina Leader-Post.
“Everyone in the room was groaning, saying, ‘What is going on?’ Like whispering to themselves. Not a single laugh at times,” Tynan Allan, who attended the event, told the CBC. “It was just very apparent how uncomfortable everyone felt and how unacceptable the things he was talking about were.”
Schneider’s set was so poorly received that the organization issued an apology.
“While we recognize that in a free and democratic society individuals are entitled to their views and opinions and that comedy is intended to be edgy, the content, positions and opinions expressed during Mr. Schneider’s set do not align with the values of our foundation and team,” the Hospitals of Regina Foundation said in a statement. “We do not condone, accept, endorse or share Mr. Schneider’s positions, as expressed during his comedy set and acknowledge that in this instance the performance did not meet the expectations of our audience and our team.”
Ultimately, the event went on to raise $350,000 for the city’s hospitals. The Hospitals of Regina Foundation has stated that Schneider was booked for the event in 2023 through its booking agent.
A representative for Schneider did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Schneider has a long history of criticizing childhood vaccines. As far back as 2012, the comedian has publically rallied against vaccines for children, calling them “illegal” and spreading the claim that vaccines cause autism. He also accused trans TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney of “gender appropriation” in 2023.
