Dubai: Iranian-American comedian Maz Jobrani has zero patience for comedians who complain that cancel culture is killing their careers. His take?
“Listen, you're not being canceled. You're just lazy. You haven't written new jokes,” Maz tells Gulf News in a virtual zoom interview ahead of his return to Abu Dhabi on November 7th at Etihad Arena.
It's a wonderfully blunt assessment from a comedian who has spent nearly two decades using humour to dismantle stereotypes, challenge political leaders and remind audiences that people from the Middle East are perfectly capable of laughing at themselves.
After all, this is a man who knows a thing or two about being on the receiving end of prejudice. Born in Tehran, he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area with his family when he was six. Growing up in America wasn't always a barrel of laughs. In high school and college, he was called names like "camel jockey". Then came the September 11 attacks, which changed the lives of countless Middle Easterners living in the US.
But instead of allowing those experiences to silence him, MazF turned to comedy, using the very stereotypes that once defined him as material for his stand-up routines.
His love of theatre eventually paved the way for a career spanning stand-up, film and television, with appearances in Life on a Stick, 24, Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Knights of Prosperity.
For Maz, comedy has never been about avoiding uncomfortable subjects. It's about finding smarter, sharper and funnier ways to tackle them. According to him, comedy without a point of view is a wasted opportunity.
“But you don't want to become didactic,” he says. “You make sure there's a punchline. You got to have a punchline.”
Our conversation begins at an ungodly 6.15am Dubai time, but Jobrani is already in fine form, discussing everything from Donald Trump's exhausting social media habits to artificial intelligence potentially replacing human audiences.
There is also a bittersweet revelation. His upcoming Abu Dhabi performance could be his last in the capital for some time as he prepares to step away from touring and prioritise his children.
‘I want to punch up’
In an increasingly polarised world, where a comedian's joke can trigger outrage within seconds, Maz believes the answer isn't necessarily censorship or self-censorship. It's better writing.
He is particularly unimpressed by established comedians who continue recycling material from decades ago and then complain when younger audiences object.
“Your jokes and your point of view is what it was 20 years ago. Now 20 years later, our kids see a different world,” he says.
“If I want to stay current and and and of the times, then I need to you know adjust my jokes and and you know find a way to make fun, but not using the words I was using before.”
It's a refreshing perspective in an entertainment landscape where accusations of political correctness are often used to explain why certain jokes no longer land.
Maz also acknowledges that he has accidentally offended audiences, but he doesn't believe that gives comedians permission to stop evolving.
“I don't want to punch down. I want to punch up.”
That means avoiding jokes targeting people for physical disabilities or circumstances beyond their control. Politicians, however, remain fair game.
Trump: The gift that keeps exhausting comedians
Few political figures have supplied comedians with as much material as US President Donald Trump. But Maz isn't exactly grateful.
“I would give back any money I made from Trump jokes if he would just go away because it's really hard to keep up,” he says.
The comedian admits that Trump's relentless stream of statements and controversies has become exhausting even for someone whose livelihood involves observing political absurdity.
“If I tried to make a joke of everything he says every day, I wouldn't have time to you know eat or sleep.”
He now sometimes avoids the news altogether, preferring to check the stock market as a rough barometer of what might be happening.
And his description of Trump is particularly colourful.
“He's just like it's it's like having a a toddler that you can't control,” he says, before imagining a succession of therapists, teachers and preschool staff struggling to manage him.
But beyond the jokes lies a serious conviction about democracy and freedom of expression.
Maz recalls a confrontation with a pro-Trump heckler who objected to his political material.
“The whole point of America is we can make fun of our leaders, right?” he says.
“Whether it's Trump or Biden or Obama, I don't care who it is, but that's the whole point.”
How Abu Dhabi's comedy scene has changed
Maz's relationship with the UAE stretches back nearly 20 years, to the days when he toured with the groundbreaking Axis of Evil Comedy Tour.
He remembers a considerably more restrictive environment for stand-up comedians.
“When I first came there with the Axis of Evil almost 20 years ago, the promoters would say, ‘No sex, no religion, no politics.’”
His punchline to that instruction is immediate.
“So you're like, well, hello and goodbye or salaam alaikum, alaikum salaam.”
But the comedian believes the region has undergone a remarkable transformation.
During his most recent Abu Dhabi appearance, he says he performed essentially the same material he was delivering in Western countries without encountering objections.
“I was able to do the show I was doing in America and Australia and Europe in Abu Dhabi, and nobody batted an eye.”
For someone who witnessed the region's comedy industry in its infancy, that evolution is deeply personal.
“And I was like, wow, the society has moved forward,” he says.
The UAE's multicultural audience is another reason he enjoys performing here. Having appeared twice at Etihad Arena, he describes Abu Dhabi as one of his favourite places to perform.
Yet his next visit carries an emotional significance.
“This time's gonna be is actually my last time there because I'm gonna step back and spend some time with my family because my son just went to college, my daughter's just a couple years away.”
He wants to slow down, spend time with his children and, as he puts it, “smell the roses.”
Can AI replace comedians?
Artificial intelligence might be threatening journalists, writers and performers, but Maz has already conducted his own rather entertaining experiment.
He asked AI to write jokes in his voice. The results were underwhelming.
Then he tried something more ambitious: asking AI to impersonate an audience member so he could practise crowd work.
The imaginary spectator introduced himself as Joe, complete with hesitant responses and an invented backstory.
The experiment left Maz contemplating an absurd future.
“And I realized maybe in the future we won't need audiences. I just do a show to AI.”
Jokes aside, he supports regulation while recognising AI's potential benefits, particularly in medical research. He also reveals that he has been dealing with a health issue recently, without elaborating.
Comedy as a weapon against prejudice
Perhaps the most compelling part of Maz's career is his belief that laughter can challenge deeply ingrained prejudice.
When the Axis of Evil comedians performed in America following September 11, their mission extended beyond entertainment.
They wanted Americans to see people of Iranian, Indian, Arab and other backgrounds as ordinary human beings capable of humour.
“One guy said, ‘I never knew these people laughed,’” Mazrecalls.
Another viewer reportedly wrote to the comedians admitting that the performances had challenged his prejudices following the attacks.
For Maz, even the audience shots in their comedy special carried significance: Americans were seeing Middle Eastern-looking people laughing together.
“I think comedy can make a difference and make a little bit of push forward,” he says.
He remains modest about his own contribution.
“I've made a little bit of difference.”
Why artists should take a stand
Maz counts politically conscious performers such as George Carlin and Richard Pryor among his inspirations.
And when our conversation turns to musicians taking public positions, including Macklemore, he is equally unequivocal.
“Thank God for Macklemore for standing up and good for him,” he says.
For Maz, celebrity should not mean political silence.
“I think that you should always have an opinion and always use your platform to move things forward.”
It's a fitting philosophy for a comedian who has spent his career finding humour in uncomfortable truths.
As he prepares for what he says will be his final Abu Dhabi show before taking a break, Maz isn't abandoning the political jokes, the cultural observations or the occasionally awkward encounters with audiences.
He simply wants more time with his family.
And perhaps that's the most relatable punchline of all: after years of trying to make the world laugh, even a comedian deserves a little downtime.
How to buy tickets for his November 7th show at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi?
Tickets range from Dh275 and above and can be booked here.