I was one of the founding members
of the Axis of Evil Comedy Tour. The other founding members
included Ahmed Ahmed, who is an Egyptian-American,
who actually had the idea to go to the Middle East and try it out
before we went out as a tour. He went out solo and did it first. Then there was Aron Kader,
who was the Palestinian-American. And then there was me,
the Iranian-American of the group. Now, being Iranian-American
presents its own set of problems, as you know. Those two countries
aren’t getting along these days. So it causes a lot of inner
conflict, you know, like part of me likes me,
part of me hates me. (Laughter) Part of me thinks I should
have a nuclear program, the other part thinks
I can’t be trusted with one. These are dilemmas I have every day. But I was born in Iran;
I’m now an American citizen, which means I have the American passport, which means I can travel. Because if you only have
the Iranian passport, you’re kind of limited to the countries
you can go to with open arms, you know — Syria, Venezuela, North Korea. (Laughter) So, anyone who’s gotten their passport
in America will tell you, when you get it, it still says
what country you were born in. So I remember getting
my American passport. I was like, “Woo-hoo!
I’m going to travel.” And I opened it up, it said, “Born
in Iran.” I’m like, “Oh, come on, man!” (Laughter) “I’m trying to go places.” (Laughter) But what’s interesting is, I’ve never had trouble in any Western
countries with my American passport, even though it says,
“Born in Iran” — no problems. Where I’ve had problems
is in some of the Arab countries. I guess some of the Arab countries
aren’t getting along with Iran either. So I was in Kuwait recently,
doing a comedy show with some other American comedians. They all went through. Then the border patrol saw my American
passport: “Ah-ha! American, great.” Then he opened it up.
“Born in Iran? Wait.” (Laughter) And he started asking me questions. He said, “What is your father’s name?” I said, “Well, he’s passed away,
but his name was Khosro.” He goes, “What
is your grandfather’s name?” I said, “He passed away a long time ago. His name was Jabbar.” He says, “You wait. I’ll be back,”
and he walked away. And I started freaking out, because I don’t know what kind
of crap my grandfather was into. (Laughter) Thought the guy was going
to come back and be like, “We’ve been looking
for you for 200 years.” (Laughter) “Your grandfather has
a parking violation. It’s way overdue. You owe us two billion dollars.” (Laughter) But as you can see, when I talk,
I speak with an American accent, which you would think,
as an Iranian-American actor, I should be able to play any part,
good, bad, what have you. But a lot of times in Hollywood, when casting directors find out
you’re of Middle Eastern descent, they go, “Oh, you’re Iranian. Great! Can you say ‘I will kill you
in the name of Allah?'” I go, “I could say that,
but what if I were to say, ‘Hello. I’m your doctor’?” They go, “Great! And then
you hijack the hospital.” (Laughter) Like, I think you’re
missing the point here. Don’t get me wrong,
I don’t mind playing bad guys. I want to play a bad guy.
I want to rob a bank. I want to rob a bank in a film, but do it with a gun, not with a bomb
strapped around me, right? (Laughter) Because I imagine the director:
“Maz, I think your character would rob the bank
with a bomb around him.” “Why would I do that? If I want the money,
why would I kill myself?” (Laughter) Right? (Applause) “Gimme all your money,
or I’ll blow myself up!” (Laughter) “Well, then blow yourself up. (Laughter) Just do it outside, please.” (Laughter) But the fact is, there’s good
people everywhere. That’s what I try and show in my stand-up,
good people everywhere. All it takes in one person to mess it up. Like a couple months ago
in Times Square in New York, there was a Pakistani Muslim guy
who tried to blow up a car bomb. Now, I happened to be in Times Square
that night doing a comedy show. And a few months before that, there
was a white American guy in Austin, Texas who flew his airplane
into the IRS building, and I happened to be in Austin that day
doing a stand-up comedy show. Now I’ll tell you,
as a Middle-Eastern male, when you show up around a lot
of these activities, you start feeling guilty at one point. (Laughter) I was watching the news. I’m like,
“Am I involved in this crap?” (Laughter) “I didn’t get the memo. What’s going on?” (Laughter) But what was interesting was, the Pakistani Muslim guy —
see, he gives a bad name to Muslims and Middle Easterners and Pakistanis
from all over the world. And one thing that happened there
was also the Pakistani Taliban took credit for that failed car bombing. My question is: Why would you take credit
for a failed car bombing? “We just want to say: we tried.” (Laughter) “And furthermore … (Laughter) it is the thought that counts.” (Laughter) (Applause) “And in conclusion, win some, lose some.” (Laughter) But what happened was, when the white guy
flew his plane into the building, I know all my Middle Eastern
and Muslim friends in the States were watching TV, going, “Please, don’t be Middle Eastern.
Don’t be Hassan or Hussein.” And the name came out: Jack.
I’m like, “Woooo! That’s not one of us!” But I kept watching the news
in case they came back, and were like, “Before he did it,
he converted to Islam.” “Damn it! Why Jack? Why?” But the fact is, I’ve been lucky to get a chance to perform
all over the world, and I did a lot of shows
in the Middle East. I just did a seven-country solo tour. I was in Oman, and I was in Saudi Arabia. I was in Dubai. And it’s great, there’s good
people everywhere. And you learn great things
about these places. I encourage people always
to go visit these places. For example, Dubai — cool place. They’re obsessed with having the biggest,
tallest, longest, as we all know. They have a mall there, the Dubai Mall. It is so big, they have taxis in the mall. I was walking. I heard, “Beep! Beep!”
I’m like, “What are you doing here?” He goes, “I’m going to the Zara store.
It’s three miles away. Out of my way. Out of my way.
Out of my way.” (Laughter) And what’s crazy — there’s a recession
going on, even in Dubai, but you wouldn’t know by the prices. Like in the Dubai Mall,
they sell frozen yogurt by the gram. It’s like a drug deal. I was walking by. The guy goes,
“Psst! Habibi, my friend.” (Laughter) “You want some frozen yogurt? (Laughter) Come here. Come here. Come here. I have one gram, five gram, 10 gram.
How many gram do you want?” (Laughter) I bought five grams. 10 dollars.
10 dollars! I said, “What’s in this?” He’s like, “Good stuff, man.
Colombian. Top of the line.” (Laughter) The other thing you learn
when you travel in these countries, in the Middle East, Latin American,
South American countries, a lot of times when they build stuff,
there’s no rules and regulations. For example, I took my two-year-old son
to the playground at the Dubai Mall. And I’ve taken him to playgrounds
all over the United States. And when you put your two-year-old
on a slide in the United States, they put something on the slide to slow the kid down
as he comes down the slide. Not in the Middle East. (Laughter) I put my two-year-old on the slide,
he went whoosh! He took off! (Laughter) I went down and, “Where’s my son?”
“On the third floor, sir. Third floor.” (Laughter) “You take a taxi.
You go to Zara. Make a left.” (Laughter) “Try the yogurt. It’s very good.
Little expensive.” (Laughter) But one thing I try to do
with my stand-up is break stereotypes. And I’ve been guilty
of stereotyping as well. I was in Dubai. And there’s a lot
of Indians who work in Dubai. And they don’t get paid that well. And I got it in my head that all
the Indians must be workers. I forgot there’s obviously
successful Indians in Dubai too. I was doing a show, and they said,
“We’ll send a driver to pick you up.” I went down to the lobby,
and saw this Indian guy. I go, “He must be my driver,” since he’s standing there in a cheap
suit, thin mustache, staring at me. I say, “Excuse me, are you my driver?” He goes, “No, sir. I own the hotel.” (Laughter) I go, “I’m sorry!
Why were you staring at me?” He goes, “I thought you were my driver.” (Laughter) (Applause) (Laughter) I’ll leave you with this: I try,
with my stand-up, to break stereotypes, present Middle Easterners
and Muslims in a positive light. I hope that in the coming years, more film and television programs
come out of Hollywood, presenting us in a positive light. Who knows? Maybe one day,
we’ll even have our own James Bond. Right? “My name is Bond. Jamal Bond.” (Laughter) Til then, I’ll keep telling jokes.
Hope you keep laughing. Have a good day. Thank you. (Applause)
i like this guy .. very funy .😊
Wooohooo me too born in Iraq but still question about speaking Arabic which I don’t have a clue Lmboooooo
he bombed it!!!
I wish the world to know the people of Iran well.
Iranian culture and history are contemplative..
This regime detached Iran from the people..
anyway viva iranian👍💞👑🇮🇷🇮🇷🇮🇷
The crowd was a little worried he might actually be a comic terrorist.🤣
So Maz is trying to connect people through jokes, and Intel makes an advertisement at the end "Our jokes are not like your jokes" which uses different kinds of comedy as segregation.
I don't know who in the marketing team thought that was a good idea, for it was stupid.
@4:27 does anyone notice that Maz is sorta like Chris O'Dowd, the actor in IT crowd? both his look and his voice.
Not a word of derision towards the islamo-fascists back in Iran who are destroying his Persian culture….. he's too chicken as he obviously wants the best of both worlds….. to be able to go back and forth between Iran and the West without irritating the pashmaloos and other authorities who are busy censoring, imprisoning and torturing anyone who has the balls to criticise these despots !!!!
One of the real funniest with wonderful personality is you maz , love ya n wish you all the best man🍀🌷💕
Apparently the US has begun to accept dual citizenship of it's denizens. What happen to the renunciation to other states when one becomes a United Satian.
Great set!
Guys laugh please.
😂
Great man love your intelligent and sense of humour
Remember, TED receives lots of corporate funding. 😏
Yes agreed, great stand-up comedian but tough crowd…
This guy says he is trying to break stereotypes yet he says "colombian, top of the line". That is just being a hypocrite.
I know why ? Pakistan is been fooling the world for years, they have created Pakistani Taliban and started a business. USA paid 33billion dollars to fight, they kinda stage everything in tribal Pashtoon areas and Talibans are the same army who wanna terrorise Americans in order to get the flow of cash flowing into Pakistan …$$$$$$$
He’s just not that funny being a politician at same time and a Jew who makes fun of Muslims.
Sheesh. Tough crowd. He’s hysterical
he's so boring…didn't even make me smile
Dude's hilarious.
He also moves like a 1980s stand-up. Physicality is old-school; content is contemporary AF.
I love this guy! Finally, someone who can see the lighter side of the world's status. It's a new new perspective on Persians and he'll change the stereo type in movies.
er….how to say…no thanks, in Farsi….
5:37 before he did it he converted to islam
Me: bulls*#%
Clearly not his audience..this guy is hilarious and half of them are sleeping,..happy some got it
I had more fun with this guy than I ever had with a funny white dude
Now i have heard. Thank you
Oh dang! I just realized this is like 10 years old but still applies today!! It wasn't until he was like "White guy flew his plane into the IRS building" I realized this was old footage.
The name is Bond, Jameez Bond ….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGi6gLrAkws
are you perzhaannn?
Actually even a failed terror attempt still adds to overall terror effort, as it terrorizes the intended populace.:(
7:30 "third floor" supposed to be a joke but not funny…
Brilliant!
Lolol. This guy is really funny! At least he has not lost his sense of humor. We NEED to lighten up in this country. The left has created a CULTURE OF INTOLERANCE
Um mildly amusing
Now this guy is really funny! America is glad to have such genuine person who enlightens us.
I guess white crowd took his bomb jokes seriously.
So many hyphenated Americans, proves there aren't may real one also you have influential ' dual citizens '.
I can’t respect the ragheads sorry
Movie hung ho
SOS…SOS…SOS…From…Iran
Please help free Iran from Evil Islam and Mafia state Russia.
Islam is a dangerous virus so is Russian Mafia state.
No such thing as an Iranian-American. If you're born in Iran, you're an Iranian; if you're born in America, you're an American.
This turd might be born in Iran, but is not an Iranian, he's a filthy jew
🤣
Beautiful bro
Please let this be funny.
YouTube account made for Government APPROVED.
🥰😁😀
Very funny
"Well then blow yourself up. Just do it outside please." 😂😂😂😂😂
Plot twist, if you’re a Muslim comedian you want your jokes to bomb
Visit Israel.
you say you wish there was more content Canadian tv show https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Mosque_on_the_Prairie
Comedy is a universal language meant to cause laughter. There are good humans everywhere, as this brother is trying to point out. I'm an immigrant from Africa and when I hear about crime news, and the police are looking for a suspect. I pray inside me, please don't let it be a blackman, please God. This is a beautiful comedy. Bye Jamal Bond…..
😂عالی بود
Thanks for being so light-hearted about issues no one wants to acknowledge.
Thanks for humor we can all laugh at. That is… The good citizens of our world!
Great comedian, keep it up
Ah…. Get them racists. You know because that's how you open it up, right? Get rid of those racists. Hey, I have an idea… Just bear with me on this one… How's about we do communism….I know it's a long shot just saying…. But some day we can have all equality and then faces are melted off because that's how communism works. And yes, I do want some frozen yogurt.
Ted talk crowds suck
Yo my boy Simeon doing TED talks now.
you fucking moron …you re not an iranian …
Tasteless idiot
He did this exact joke two or three times already
Great comedian, but l dont trust you. You are MAININI AND TAKIYYAS, rather have you far, far away. Is you'll fault, you are bullies kill everybody, and when Americans hit back, we are racist. So emigrate to your own countries and leave the west Christian countries ALONE, DONT TRIED TO TAKE OVER, YOU ALL HAVE TRIED FOR 1400 CENTURIES, DONT WORK.
its true… good peoples everywhere… just dont go bike in the desert.
iran? Persia? the enemy of the free world,,, Greece, rome, turkey, now USA,,, iran is the enemy since 1979,,,, iran must be destroy under a nuclear mushroom,,, jjjjj
But what if… "Hi I'm your doctor" 😂❤️
He needs to come up with new material.
almost 9/10 times its same stuff. come on man!!
The Nerds and Geeks can't take a politically incorrect Jokes. LOL.
The only good middle easterner is a dead one.
Funny and i understand his message.
Comedy had the power to bring people together and laugh at each other, now a certain faction of society in the west just want comedy banned.
Never trust someone who is serious.
Yeah no James Bond please.
this was hilarious
WELL !! DONE !!MR MAZ JOBRANI .GREAT STUFF !!!"LAUGHTER IS THE VERY BEST MEDICINE "NICE ONE !!LOVED IT !!!FROM (U.K.).
I love him…
He is Iranian dog bonking infront of you
"why would I do that?" 😂
I love,love him. He is too funny.
Loved it. It’s a big planet. With many people. Keep an open mind.
سلام یو تیوب من انگلیسی پخش میکند میخوام فارسی باشد راهنمایم کنید
کسشعر
اغلب ستیزنا جوگیر و بی غیرتن!
Very funny fellow earthling.
With all the expressive comic events told at rokcet speed – its ok. There was no expression on free life / liberty / opportunity extended by unbiased American system!! So, I dont really tend to believe in the integrity of this Iranian in loving the country which gave him an entirely different (enjoyable) life!! Typical of muslims!!?? Dont know yet!!
This is "inspired thinking"?
Peace، Peace، Peace، Peace، Peace، Peace، Peace، Peace Peace،، Peace، Peace، Peace، Peace، Peace، Peace، Peace،
Why don’t we live in peace ?,,, what happen to your minds people?
GO HOME
9 years has passed and US still has a problem with Iran…
Khomeini was right. There is no humour in islam. Muslims in a positive light? I don't think so, but thanks for trying
lol
For the first time ted is funny
THIS GUY IS AMAZING.!!!!
really enjoyed ✨✨✨
😊😊😊😊
Beautiful👏👏👏👏
love u jobrani
All it takes is 10% of a group to mess it up for the rest!
some of the people there were at the wrong show