Rob Schneider is one of the funnier comedians to have appeared on Saturday Night Live, with his comedy and acting roles particularly well-received by many because he has stayed funny instead of drifting into wokeness disguised as comedy or entertainment. He also recently converted to Catholicism, announcing the momentous decision in a post on X, and is now discussing what that conversion means for his career in Hollywood.
According to Schneider, who is famous for a quite raunchy brand of humor as seen in hit movies of his like “Hot Chick” to “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” he thinks his newfound faith in Christ means he needs to leave behind that sort of humor, whatever the powers that be in woke Hollywood think of his decision to move on from it.
He said as much to the Christian Post, saying that his Christian Faith means he can’t do the things he used to and that, though he won’t just his past self or past performances, some of which were quite funny, his has decided what his new path in the entertainment industry will be and doesn’t want to let his career interfere with his faith.
Speaking on the matter, Schneider said, “I know I can’t do the same stuff I used to do. Not because I have anything against what I did; I did what I did, and I felt fine about it at the time. I’m not going to judge myself. But I won’t do the same stuff I’ve done. I don’t know what I’m going to do. … I want to come to it from a place of faith, a place of something good in my heart.”
Continuing, Schneider explained what he is reexamining about his past comedy flick and what it is about them that might not fit with his Christian faith, saying, “I don’t know if I can tell dirty jokes anymore. I don’t know if I can. I don’t know if I’m going to. I have an act I’m doing now; I don’t know if I’ll do it again next year. Just some of the bad words, I go, ‘Maybe I don’t want to say those words anymore.’ I don’t know.”
Schneider then spoke about what he thinks his role in the church is now that he has converted, speaking about leading by example and trying to convert those still outside the church. He said, “I also think it’s important to not only talk to the converted but to bring people in, and the best form is to show by example. People talk all the time; that doesn’t mean anything. So I hope that me standing up for what I believe in — God, family country — I’m OK with whatever comes my way, positive or negative. When you have faith, nothing can really rock you.”
And, as to what the Hollywood powers that be think about his moving away from his past content and toward a different, faith-filled one, Schneider says he doesn’t care if they are against him. Making that point, he said, “I don’t feel a part of Hollywood. I don’t feel any obligation to Hollywood whatsoever. I don’t feel like I’m from Hollywood. I’m just an actor and made my living for a long time there. I feel no sense of loyalty or disloyalty to Hollywood. Let them do whatever they want. I don’t feel the same fear that they feel.”
Then, commenting on how important it is for people to speak the truth and stand up for what is right, he said, “I’m not speaking for all of Hollywood, but what I noticed is that there’s a fearfulness to speak the truth and to talk about what people believe in and what they want. I think a lot of it is self-motivated and protecting themselves. You’re always going to be missing something if you’re led by fear.”
Finally, speaking about how he decided to come to Christ, Schneider said, “Jesus has always been there in my life; it was just me running away. But He never ran away. He was always there. So it was just acknowledging it and also realizing there was so much evil that was happening during the COVID and the tyranny that was forcing people to do things against their will. It really did come to a head for me. You had to acknowledge that there is some sort of organized evil. And the opposite of that was much stronger, which is Jesus and God. I think if you get to the core of Christianity, it’s about love. That’s it, love. Love your neighbor, love your enemy, love your neighbor as thyself. It’s a beautiful way to go through life; it’s a more peaceful way. And what better way to raise children? You see the countries that don’t have that, and it’s a cold or darker place. You see other beliefs where it’s not about loving your enemy but killing your enemy. And you realize that Christianity is the true faith.”
Featured image credit: By Super Festivals – https://www.flickr.com/photos/superfestivals/48480559301, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86365697
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