The Three Biggest Russell Peters Controversies

Canadian comedian, Russell Peters, is one of the most controversial funny guys in the industry.  Now 44 years-old, Peters began his stand-up career 25 years ago by doing shows in Toronto.  In 1992, Peters met legendary comedian, George Carlin, who offered up some advice that Peter says he took to heart.  Carlin told Peters to get on stage whenever possible, and throughout the years, he has done just that.  In 2004, Peters’ career reached a new level when a video of him performing on the Canadian TV show, Comedy Now!, went viral after being uploaded to YouTube. Over the last decade, Peters has taken the comedy world by storm.  In 2007, Peters sold more 16,000 show tickets in two days, and became the first comedian to sell out the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.  However, even though Peters has reached a high-level of success, his career has been surrounded by a lot of controversy due to the subject of his material.

Peters, who relies heavily on racial, ethnic, and other stereotypes to produce his content, has often been deemed as racist and/or ignorant by those who believe his jokes are over-the-top.  Peters, has even gained criticism from fellow Indians who feel that his jokes against his own ethnic group are crude and demeaning.  However, Peters does not seem to be bothered by what others think of him, and he has continued to perform jokes that poke fun at people from all backgrounds and walks-of-life.  Here are the three biggest Russell Peters controversies.

3.  Russell Peters publicly announces beef with Aziz Ansari.

In 2013, reports began to surface that there was a bit of unfriendliness between Russell Peters and fellow comedian Aziz Ansari. During an interview with popular New York City based hip-hop stating, HOT 97, Peters was asked if he was cool with Aziz Ansari, to which he responded, “no, nobody is.”  He then continued to say: “you show me one person that says ‘that’s my boy’ other than Kanye and Jay-Z.”  According to sources, the “beef” between the artists began when Peters felt that Ansari disrespected him while the two were shaking hands at an awards ceremony.  Peters said that he wanted to respond to the disrespect; however, “the guy’s [Ansari] so small you can’t hit him.”  When news of the problem between the comedians hit the public, many Americans had never even heard of Peters, and were inclined to side with Ansari who has been a prominent figure in American comedy for the last several years.  However, since Peters openly announced that he did not like Ansari, the two seemed to have made amends.  In September 2013, Peters tweeted that the “war” between him and Ansari was over.

The war is over… Lol! Me and @Azizansari #NoMoreBeef #Squashed http://t.co/dOidWNaT

— Russell Peters (@therealrussellp) January 17, 2013

2. Russell Peters insults Bollywood.

Bollywood, the name given to the hindi-based film industry in Mumbai, India, is a well-respected in India and other parts of the world.  When Russell Peters, a Canadian born Indian man, received backlash when he made negative comments regarding Bollywood films.  During a press conference, he stated: “I hate Bollywood. The movies are all garbage, just terrible. It’s my opinion, obviously there are billions who love them. I have never seen a Bollywood film in my life. I have refused to do them earlier and will do so in future.”  Peters also made negative comments about one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, when he insulted her by stating: “If you look good, you can act in a Bollywood movie, you don’t have to be able to act; and Aishwarya Rai is a great example of this. She is a beautiful woman… You look at her, I want to look at her….she is fine; but stop acting or stop trying to act. Just be happy being this guy’s wife, keep endorsing, modelling with the big eyes.” His comments quickly caused outrageous amongst many people in India, including politicians and Bollywood producers.

1. Russell Peters’ handicap jokes.

Russell Peters’ comedy is well-known for pushing boundaries, and much of his content contains racial and ethnically motivated jokes.  However, many fans felt that Peters took things too far when he began making jokes about handicapped people.  In 2007, during a show in Philadelphia, PA, Peters made several jokes about deaf people, some of which, as on attendee put it, were “corny and stupid.”  Some of Peters jokes included one in which he said that one perk of being deaf is not having to listen to a nagging girlfriend, while others were desired as downright “mean”.  However, Peters also went on to discuss sign language, and how some of its symbols are inherently racist, which both humored and interested the crowd.  Peters has also been known to make jokes about people suffering from other handicaps.  During a show in 2012, Peters addressed fans in wheelchairs by pointing and saying: “That’s where all the good parking went.”

(Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images for COPE Health Solutions)