Mo Amer
Appearances
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I come from a highly educated family. This would be a really big black mark on us, like, and myself. And I don't want that. She goes, don't you want to be a stand-up comedian? I was like, yeah, absolutely I do. She goes, I tell you what, if you stop skipping, I'll let you do stand-up in class. I was like, what? Are you sure I can do stand-up in class? She was like, yeah.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
She goes, all you have to do is just sprinkle in something, because it was English class. If you can sprinkle in some Shakespeare or be creative and figure out a way how you can mix in the curriculum, I'll give you extra credit even, and I'll let you do stand-up on Fridays. I was like, this sounds like a great deal. I was like, what's the catch? She goes, you can't skip anymore.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
You skip once, and it's over for you. I'm going to give you, I'm going to fail you. It's over.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
First of all, I'd never heard of stand-up comedy. It's an indigenous art form to America. There's three. It's jazz, hip-hop, and stand-up. So I didn't know anything about it. I went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo a few months after being in the States to kind of change things up. My family took me just to kind of get my mind off of things and to try to do something fun.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Yeah, so it was him, he was co-headlining with the band Alabama, and I saw it, and I just, in front of 65,000 plus people, just telling these hilarious stories, and I looked at my brother, I was like, what is this? I was like, this is stand-up comedy. I was like, oh my God, that's what I'm supposed to be doing with my life. And my brother was like, okay, yeah. This kid's having a moment.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
He had no idea how profound of a moment it was for me and how it was just so real that this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I was always really funny. I was always telling stories. I never had like a that was just natural to me. And my mom would tell me like when I was when I just started walking, I would walk in front of the television and turn off the TV and start doing gestures and making sounds. But but that's how it worked out. And I did stand up in high school.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Like I said, I was doing it in classes and and I would do impressions of Chris Farley and I would just like roast kids in class as Chris Farley. And then when I graduated high school, I walked into the Laugh Stop, which is an iconic comedy club. Unfortunately, it's no longer open anymore in Houston.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I did the Houston's Funniest Person competition, and that's where I learned about the world of stand-up and what it takes in a comedy club, open mics and building a set and everything.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And that's where I met my mentor, owner of the comedy showcase, Danny Martinez, who ended up teaching me everything I needed to know about stand-up comedy, the art form, getting my wings, and how to become a proficient stand-up comedian.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
If you give me a laissez-passer, I'll donate to your vacation fund. You want to go tubing in San Marcos? Because I can't afford more than San Marcos. You want to bribe me? Who said bribe? Nobody said bribe. I didn't say bribe. I did not. Put your hand down. I didn't say bribe. I said donation. Politicians take donations all the time.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Oh, I learned that. Yeah, I learned that. It's so important. I think comedians don't understand you have an instrument there with your voice. Man, it brings me so much joy that you recognize that. It takes years to perfect something like that or to hone a skill like that.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
and i think that sounds and again that's something that danny taught me early on in my stand-up career is how you use you know understanding what my technique is and where you put the mic and the inflection in your voice and when you use it where it's not something that i like deliberately try to do is just a natural thing that happens while i'm telling a story that i'm highly conscious of so i just do it naturally in the moment
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Oh, my God. That pre-getting my U.S. citizenship, it feels like a dream. Like I don't even know how I did it. You had a refugee travel document that's issued. They still do this to this day. It's only valid for a year. which is so difficult, has its own implications, because some countries require at least six months validity, right, to any passport or travel document.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
It takes four months to get, so you're just waiting forever for it. And then nobody knows what it is. Nobody has a clue what it is. The people who should know what it is don't know what it is. Like the people working at the airlines, when you first check in, no idea what it is. When you get to the immigration counter,
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
90 plus percent of the immigration officers from all around the world look at this as an alien landing like what is this thing you know and they just freak out by it how did you get here why are you here the questions start to ensue and then they realize how you know terrible they were to me for hours and hours until they got confirmation that this is a real thing that you can actually travel with
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Which makes it even more confusing is that it says, this is not a passport the moment you open it, right? On the inside, it's big, bold letters. It says, this is not a U.S. passport. So it's like, well, what is this thing?
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Yeah, I'm like, yeah, I know it's not a passport. Yeah, exactly. I know exactly this is not a passport, but it's a refugee trial, and I would have to become really knowledgeable about what it is, when it was issued, what rights I have attached to it. It was just a mess, just an absolute mess.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, in some cases, I had to mislead them to enter the country. In some cases, I would have to just like completely mislead them or pretend like I don't know what they're talking about or just create some kind of situation or attempt to big time it.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Like, you know, you know, just you have to like I had to assess the situation and each one was very different than the other. And then I would assess the person and the immigration officer. And then I had to, you know. come up with a quick plan in that moment to get in.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And so you have to exude this confidence and tell them exactly what they're doing. And once you tell them you're a comedian, if they understood what stand-up comedy was, it made things lighter naturally. But then you just have to be super direct. And then you guilt them. Like, hey, this is my livelihood. I'm coming to work. This is what I do. And this is where I'm going.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Would you do this to yourself? Would you do this to people? You know, like, what am I doing here? You would just guilt them into... Like basically let them see how racist this interaction is. And then once they start having that realization and they know that it's legal and they have to let you go through, they eventually let you go.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I would. No, absolutely I would. I would cite Geneva Conventions. And this is my rights here. This is what it is according to the Articles of 1948. Yeah, absolutely I would. Yeah. I mean, it's been a while, so I need a massive refresher. But it was one of those things that I had to do. And I would also add to it, like, recommendation letters from the respective consulates.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I would carry those with me as well as references. So if they had any issues, I would get them before I leave, before I left Houston and I would get those recommendation letters, and I would have to work that out, right? I would have to call the consulate general of Jordan at that time, like, hey, can you connect me with the Japanese consulate? Maybe he can write me a letter.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
So when I get there, if I have any issues, I can show that to them, or I would do that with all those countries. It was like a pretty great hustle for a kid that was like 18, 19 years old to think that far ahead. That's pretty insane. Who has those backup plans like that?
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
It's just the asylee process, you know, dealing with the immigration process. And there was a couple of snafus that nobody really saw coming. But the asylee immigrant process is not that easy.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Absolutely. Absolutely. And more so than my dad passed away at another layer of complexity. So we had to start over because we didn't know who the lawyer was. It was just a whole situation. And then by the time you get another attorney and you get another court date, it takes a lot of time. It's not something that happens overnight. And then when you get there, it has a whole other layers to it.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Like, oh, what do you need this or this paperwork or that? How can you prove this and that? Like, it takes a while. And then by the time you do get your asylum, if you're lucky enough to get it, you're not deported. It takes you five years to get your green card, another five years to become a citizen. It's just that's the way it is. That's the process. So, yeah, it takes time.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Well, I mean, it wasn't just a random sitting next to him. It was right after his dad was elected president of the United States and no one from the Trump administration was speaking to the media. And I didn't even know this because I was so engrossed in touring. I just flew in from Australia to New York, New York. I'm going to Scotland, Glasgow, England. And I couldn't think. I didn't even know.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I was so exhausted. I get there and I sit next to him. I'm like, is this a joke? I thought this was a joke. I'm like, am I being set up? Am I being recruited into the Illuminati and I don't know it? What's happening? What's going on? And I just initially thought that the ticketing agent had a sense of humor. She was just like, oh, Eric Trump is on my flight?
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Let me see who's on standby here for first class. Oh, Mohammed Mustafa Hammer, upgrade. You know, like I thought that was potentially what was going on. And I joke, you know, I gave him the business. I wasn't holding back. And I just told him, I was like, hey, this Muslim stuff has got to just stop. I don't know why it's happening. You know, you guys need to. Relax on that.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I took a picture with him and I had a caption. It's been a while now, but something along the lines like, don't worry, guys, there's no Muslim ID cards. And I didn't know it was going to become like a global incident. I landed six hours later in Glasgow and I have emails from every single publication and news outlets on planet Earth. I was like, holy, what did I just do?
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
He was just like, come on, my dad. He was like, the funny thing is, he was just like, you know, we do a lot of business in the Middle East. Come on, nobody's going to do that. Like, I have Arab friends. He did one of those things, which was hilarious. And then I told him, I was like, look, I've got your dad all figured out.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
He knows the trigger words, right, for the media to cover him and create a spectacle, right? He knows those words. So he keeps the things that he can't touch, he keeps touching them and saying them over and over again. And he knows he's going to dominate the news coverage. That's what he does. Without even flinching, he goes, yep, that's exactly what it does.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Yeah, Middle East, Japan, Korea, Guam, Bahrain, Germany, Italy, Sicily.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Yeah, no, it was important for me to be myself. This was like the first time I did those shows was pre 9-11. It was April of 2001 was the first time I did those in Italy, Germany and Sicily. I went with another comedian named Carolyn Picard who took me on the road with her. And it was, yeah, it was one of those things of just doing stand-up, right? It wasn't a big deal.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And then 9-11 happens five months later, and I had these shows booked in Japan, Korea, and Guam. I was like, man, I have to go now. It's a completely different reasoning now. It's not just, I'm not just doing stand-up comedy. I'm giving these guys a face, number one, to people that are essentially faceless in the media, in television, entertainment. And then also for myself.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I have to see if I can be myself all the time. Because if that's taken away from me in stand-up, then everything is gone. I can't fake and be a different persona and different person. No, I have to be myself. That is the funniest people, the most authentic people, are the best stand-up comedians of all time. I can't not be myself. It was a devastating time for me.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I was really scared that I might not have a career anymore. And little did I know it was actually empowering for me and for them as well.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Very few. I mean it wasn't really blowback. It was discomfort. And I leaned into that discomfort because I knew it wasn't me. It wasn't – it has nothing to do with me and it has everything to do with their perception or lack of information. So I never took it –
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
hard i never took it to heart i never was judgmental of them i made sure that that i stand firm in who i am and let that performance let the subject matter on stage and let the the being funny is what's most important like you can't be already have some projections on you and then they and then they like oh this guy sucks too like you You got to be hilarious. That's the number one thing.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Well, I ripped off the Band-Aid. I just would go up on stage. And when I say stage, I use that loosely because we're performing in war areas in Iraq. And I would just go up on this gravel stage in front of all these troops who are completely strapped and armed and I'd walk out and say, hey, guys, my name is Moe. It's actually short for Mom. And surprise, bitches, today is the day.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I thought that was a really good way to rip off the bad day. They would just laugh. They loved it, yeah. They ate it up. Oh, my God, they ate it up. And then I went into the storytelling and everything else, and it became such a strong relationship. And I had a lot of very earnest moments with a lot of soldiers, and they would just walk up to me and be very emotional with me, you know? It was...
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
That's really interesting you say that. I mean, I definitely identify as Palestinian-American, but it's one of those things that as a refugee, as I lead America, someone that's trying to fit in and feel like, have some kind of sense of belonging, you kind of become a chameleon and you really start putting yourself in other people's shoes almost immediately to be more relatable and understood.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
incredible experience that I would never take that right. Because I get a lot of judgment from even Muslims and Arabs, like, how dare you go over there and do this and they're killing us and this whole idea of that. I was like, well, you know, obviously I don't agree with war, period. This is all...
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
just devastating and and the reasoning behind it is all false and it's bad and i just don't agree with it and also i think it's important to not shy away from it and be present in their life and to give them a new perspective and all it was like a win win win win win you know and for me as well somebody who fled that region to begin with was really cathartic as well for me yeah it was it was like there's so many pluses to going there that i couldn't imagine not doing it i'm so glad i did
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
It was some remorse. Some of them cried on my shoulders. Some of them had a lot of respectful things to say. And some of them were just acknowledging how wrong they were about the projections they had upon the region and the friends that they made that are local, that are Arab, that are Muslim. They found to be like really profound moments. And
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Since I came and performed there and we had moments where we could share with each other and have tea and whatever was afforded to us to have a drink together, it was a really potent and hyper-real moment. I mean, it can't get any realer than that.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And I walk up. I was like, cousin, be next to me because I'm nervous. Make sure I don't mess up. So I do the call for prayer throughout the whole entire village and I'm overcome. I was like, oh my God, this is amazing. What is this thing that's been written for me? I can't believe this happened. Right as I'm thinking this, a man just crashes right into the message.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Who did the call for prayer like this? And everybody sells me out. This guy, this guy did the call for prayer. This guy did the call for prayer. I was like, yo, forget y'all, man. Y'all forced me to do the call for prayer. He's like, why'd you do it? I was like, I just told you they forced me to do the call for prayer. He goes, well, you just did it 10 minutes early, bro.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
You did it 10 minutes early. I was like, that clock is flashing, man. It's saying it's time. He goes, that clock is 10 minutes ahead. I was like, I don't know. That's a digital clock. Push the little buttons and it'll fix the whole thing, okay? You want me to do it? And then he goes, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I've been in the village my entire life. I know everyone in the village. Who are you?
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
It's very interesting how that works, that naturally and organically it just comes together that way. But... Yeah, I definitely identify as a Texan, Palestinian. I mean, I know this feels like a juxtaposition and kind of like two worlds that should be colliding, but I feel very much at home with those two worlds.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I've never seen you before. Who is your father? I tell him my father is. He goes, oh my God. He goes, oh my God. Your father is Mustafa? I was like, yes, my father is Mustafa. He goes, you know who installed the sound system in this masjid?
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
It was truly one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced in my life.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Yeah, man, it chokes me up. I can't believe that happened, you know? It's crazy. It's absolutely mind-blowing. And I meant it, like, what is this thing that's written for me? It's wild.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Yeah, and then to find out that that—because my father was a telecommunications engineer, but more so than that, he was really familiar with technology of all sorts, from televisions to radios. And apparently, this is where I learned, like, your father had a shop here in Booneen, and he would teach people what technology was because nobody knew what it was. And he made a joke.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
He's like, ah, before your dad, they used to plant antennas in the ground and pour water on them, hoping they'd get a signal, you know. And I was just making an analogy of what my dad did for the town. And he goes, yeah, your dad's the one who installed the sound system. I was like, are you kidding me? Like, that is just mind-blowing.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Oh, thank you so much for having me. Thank you so much. I've had a great time.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Absolutely, absolutely. I can pretty much cover all the dialects in English. I am conversational, completely conversational in Spanish. My grammar is not perfect sometimes, but yeah, I don't have any problems at all having a full-on conversation in Spanish and fluent in Arabic.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Yeah. And I swear by them, OK? The easy foam runners and they are – I like literally mean everything I say in there.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
How you doing, brother? Beautiful weather, huh? Yeah, it is. Yeah, we're lucky. What do you got, orthopedics? Yes, sir. Slow down, slow down now. Order yourself. What are they, nine and a half? Got it again. Yeah, they're my old trustees. I bet they're doing a number on your lower back.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Same here. Until I switched over to Yeezys. Then my back pain disappeared. Thank you, Yeezys, is what I say. Come on, let me show you something. Oh, no.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
That don't look like anything I put on my feet. They look like alien shoes. Well, they are from whatever planet Kanye's from. But don't judge them too. Try them on, brother. Come on. Come on in for a moon landing. And take 30 seconds of your time. Here we go. You got to look after your lower back.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Here you go. Come on. Give them a try. All right. These are genuine recycled algae. Whoa. Yeah. Whoa.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Aftermarket, these go for about $350,000. Now, I'm going to give them to you for $200. Son, I can't tell my wife I paid $200 for a pair of Algae shoes. Brother, I smell what you're stepping in, OK? So I'm going to sweeten the pot. Now, for $300, I know, whoa, hold on a second. Hear me out. I'm going to throw in this Chanel purse, all right? Now, this will retail well over $1,000.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
You ain't going to find a better replica than this. She won't know the difference.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Yeah, I think it's one of those things that I actually just connect with in general. I mean, the Palestinian culture is a folksy farmer kind of mentality in life. And when I came to Texas, it's one of the things that was really attractive to me was the country music, the folksy music, the storytelling tradition of that. And I really just attach myself to it because it's in my blood.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And in the character, in the scene itself, it's meant to be that I'm endearing to him and develop trust.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
No comment. Yeah, no, I did. I absolutely did. I was a teenager. It's just something that I just fell into. Honestly, I was wearing knockoff Versace sunglasses that I thought were cool. And someone was just like, hey, those are really nice. You know, you selling those? I'm like, yeah, it's my last one.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And it just became my shtick where somebody would walk in where I see someone that might be interested in what I have. I'd put it on. I'd wear it. They'd comment on it. And then I would sell it.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
No, absolutely. Assessment of situations of people is crucial to be not only a great salesman, but a great, you know, stand up comedian. So it did help a lot, you know, and it's one of those things that when you experience such hardships, you become really good at like figuring out what's good and bad and following your gut, more so following your gut. Right.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Like, you know, this could be a good thing when you tap into that and you realize that you have a high percentage of hit rate where you're right. You start to trust it way more.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I remember all of it, every bit of it. That's why I recreated it in the flashbacks as much as possible, whenever budget allowed us to do. I think it's one of those things that's glossed over. It's such an important topic, the Gulf War, that really sparked everything.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Even to this day, we're still dealing with that war, this domino effect of political relations throughout the MENA region, Middle East, North Africa. And I really believe that that was one of the biggest turning points in that area. I mean, if you think about it, there wasn't any American military presence there pre-Gulf War. And since then, we've never left.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And we've been present in that area ever since. And there's so many people that were affected by that war. You know, particularly a lot of Palestinians were affected by it and had to flee from there. It was like, now it's that they're, you know, think about my mom and my dad's perspective.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
This is the third, second or third time they have to flee because of being stateless and, you know, to have to create a new life again. So this is something that was really important to me to show this, like, generational connection. Trauma, essentially, that you're starting now to see it starting over in Houston, Texas.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Right, so they were 47. So once Israel became a state and the United Nations was formed, some Palestinians were able to stay in the Israeli quote-unquote territory. So those people are called Israeli Arabs, and they're Palestinians, but they're referred to as Israeli Arabs.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And my family historically left Haifa and ended up in Burin, which is right outside of Nablus, one of the biggest cities, I think, in the entire area.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Well, it was before I was born, so I'll just tell you what I know. I know my father was offered a job at the Kuwaiti oil company as a telecommunications engineer, and that's why my family relocated to Kuwait. And so we settled there for a long time.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
My father was actually instrumental in building wireless communication between oil rigs and was one of the first people to build a radio station in Kuwait. He and his team. So we were there for years before that. And they would visit regularly before, you know, everything blew up in Palestine and in Tevada and created the situations became more and more and more tense.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And it became more and more difficult to go back and visit.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
Sure. I mean, I was a little kid. I was nine years old when that happened. So I was, you know, this was my first time seeing my parents worried about anything, right? Like something as dramatic as this. And I knew it was really, really serious. The conditions became like... not really livable because of what Saddam Hussein was doing.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
He released a bunch of prisoners at that time and instructed them to rob the entire area. And everything just became so incredibly unsafe when it was one of the safest places to be in the world. You know, it became so unpredictable and it was really scary time and turbulent time.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I don't have a passport. Exactly. Next. No, no next. Wait, wait. Okay. Look, I got an asylum hearing coming up in Houston that I've been waiting for for 22 years. And if I get that asylum granted, I can eventually get a passport. Please, God, I've been begging for the last six months after I was kidnapped and brought to Mexico against my will, and no one's willing to help me.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
So it was at that moment that my father and my mother both made a decision together that we should leave and head to America. And that's why we ended up in Houston, Texas. But that is not something that you just pick up and leave overnight. At that time, we had to leave on a bus. And I remember this...
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
clear as day, that's why I put it in the flashback in the series, is us fleeing on a bus and leaving with whatever we had and my mom having to hide it, hide the money strategically so it doesn't get taken from us through Iraq to Amman, Jordan. Finally, we got our paperwork to leave. My sister and I actually left and ended up in Houston, Texas. My mom actually went back solo.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
It's how much of a gangster and incredible woman she is. She went back to Kuwait and to finish everything up with my father and my brother. And it was a really delicate and difficult situation. Also, politically, it was really different, right? Because at that time, you know, Yasser Arafat gave his blessings or support to Saddam Hussein.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
So it became a really difficult time for Palestinians, even though it had nothing to do with us. You know, it was a political thing. And that's what normally happens, right? Where politicians make decisions that affect the people that have nothing to do with anything. So... We had to leave at that time. We had no other choice.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
It was incredibly potent. I didn't know. So many things changed from 9 to 13 from my age. It's like so many things were already changing so dramatically. And to lose my father was a devastating blow. And, you know, you have all the things going through your head. I didn't have enough time. What did I do? What did I say to him? You have regret. You go through all the motions of that.
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
And I was completely lost, to be honest. I started skipping school, stopped being interested in it at all in high school. I didn't want to participate in anything. And it was really hard to focus. And I just had it in my head. I was going to be a stand-up comedian anyway. Why do I need this? Just forget. It's a joke anyway. I just...
Fresh Air
Texan-Palestinian Comic Mo Amer
I just had zero interest in anything other than being a stand-up comedian and entrepreneur. That's all I wanted. And then my teacher, Mrs. Reed, and Mrs. Broderick in English class changed my life. And she woke me up to it. She was like, how would you feel if you don't graduate? How would your father feel if you don't graduate? And it pierced my heart. I'm like, it would be devastating.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
I can't sit before you sit. You sit. No, you sit. Hospitality. Hospitality. My man. How's it going?
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Is it? What bothers you? I want to know. So. Is it people leaving their windows open on aircrafts? Oh, my God, yes. So frustrating. What are you doing? What are you looking at at 7 a.m. out there?
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
I've seen Big Daddy.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Tremendous. Tremendous.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Thank you so much.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
The crying? Yeah. I mean, you know, it was my first experience of that in the first season in the confessional. But really, it's just, you know, it's such a personal story. Right. And I mean, some of the things that we're doing in the show was like recreating actual memories of mine with my grandmother. I mean, that's, I'm like, Grammy? You know what I mean?
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
It's a very painful thing to go through, but I also knew that it was the realest way to tell the story. It's the most grounded way to tell the story. And it's very hard, and you have to be as controlled and composed as possible, and sometimes you lose it, and that's okay.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Yes. Which is the natural place you land.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Right.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
I don't know. I don't know. It's basically like a pass, a day pass to reenter the country legally. Since I exited illegally. Right. But there's like this, you know, blurred line and my character obviously runs with it. I was kidnapped, you know, the whole thing would play up in the show. But it's about reentering back. And I want to... You know, speak about this.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Like, you know, I deliberately wanted him to be stuck in Mexico, and I wanted to show the journey of a refugee, right? Because the first season is he's already there, right? Right.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
You're in Houston. The show takes place in Houston with some minor flashbacks here and there to show, like, the beginning of their story. But, you know, I wanted people to see what it takes to actually get to America, because most people see, oh, immigrants are coming, asylees are coming, and... They immediately think they're gonna become American citizens, like, overnight. It's a long process.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
And I also wanted to show how absurd, uh, the system is. And I wanted to see, uh, for people to see, like, also, my character's also very privileged in this scenario. You know, he's crossing the border. He ends up in a... Some spoilers here.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Quotes Hank Williams. All the time. And that happened to me, actually, when I would travel overseas to do stand-up, and I would come back in the States, and I would be in the immigration part, because I didn't have a passport. I had a refugee travel document, and I'd be on the side. And they would look at me like, do you speak English? I'm like, yelling and speaking slowly doesn't, fix it.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
If I don't speak English, I don't speak English. And I would reply and be like, whoa, this is nice.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
No, but that was the idea, to show the absurdity of the system itself, to show how privileged the character is as well, even though he's an asylee and a refugee. I mean, there's a scene in the detention center where there's a detainee there talking about how he has to, you know, Had to go through mudslides and jungles and snakes and then the cartel and drank the juice of a Vienna sausage can.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
And he looks at me. He's like, how'd you get here? I'm like, I took a bus. Mexico.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Yeah, that's the only way. So I'm stuck in Mexico. I have to get to the ambassadors. Really, the only way I can reenter legally is for him to sign off on a laissez passe, which is extremely hard to get.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Occupation, that's right.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Yeah. Well, yeah, it's like something you just can't let go of. I mean, he says a peaceful end to the conflict. And, you know, there's so much complexity to it. I mean, so many layers, nuance to it and history to it. And it's just frustrating. I couldn't let it go. I mean, it's really from my own life, really. If I'm sitting there, I will not be able to let it go.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
And he could have solved everything. I could have said it, but I will never be able to figure it out myself. Right. And I thought, how funny would that be? if he's just a massive in the show. But he's, like, has his morals intact and his ethics intact.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Yes. Oh, my brother's older than that now. But yes, in the show, yes.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Yes.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Great.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Oh, so easy. I mean, like... No, no, I'm sorry to cut you off, but it's like the way to just ease the tension because it was excruciating making the show. Right. It was absolutely one of the... And I feel shameful even saying it was excruciating or painful to know what they were going through in Gaza. Right. Like, I really... Oof! You know, it's a hard one to swallow.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
But, you know, there were so many voices. Like, are you going to talk about October 7th? Do you have to talk about it? You can't not talk about it. And everyone has their own opinions. And I discussed it with you thoroughly. And you were just, like... the best human on Earth.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Like, thank you so... No, really, because in a moment where I felt so lonely, you were one of the people that I could call and really talk to about this. And it was very difficult.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
And it was very easy once, you know, I spoke to you, and I... You know, obviously, the writing room was integral to this process, and I love them so much for having such difficult conversations, because we started on April 1st. We went on strike May 1st. We came back October 1st of 23, six days later, the only Palestinian show on television. You can imagine the conversations that were had.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
And so I decided, like, absolutely not. We're not going to talk about October 7th. There's several problems with it. Number one is that, you know, it's been a year, you know, since we started production. So you have a whole year that lapsed that, you know, so many things could change and you could write something that wouldn't be correct.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Second of all is that now, you know, it needs a lot of context. Everything that you write about October 7th makes it sound like everything started on October 7th. And I felt like it was a trap. It really felt like every time we went down that rabbit hole, the show just became didactic. And we lost everything. It became like a full-blown drama, and this is a comedy show.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
And it's a massive disservice to the characters. Let the characters tell the story. Let's build off of that. And it'll take us exactly where we need to go. And that's what happened.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
He passed away in 95, correct.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Why you gotta do this to me? I ride motorcycles, okay?
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Okay, maybe in Ohio, during the pandemic, I was riding mopeds. But other than that... And then people were making fun of me because I was bigger than the moped. Everyone was like, maybe you should get a motorcycle. I was like, fine. And I was divorced right then and there at that time. So I was like, maybe eight motorcycles. You know what I mean? It just kept buying more motorcycles.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
It was like so absurd. That's what divorce guys do. But now. That's it. That's it. Now you got a kid. Married and have a kid. He's backstage. He's backstage right now. He's backstage. Yeah.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Yeah, I'm touring. I'm doing the El Oso Palastino tour, which is based off of a character in the show, which translates to the Palestinian Bear Comedy Tour. But, yeah, no, I'm doing that. I'm going into the next special. But there's so much more story to tell. I mean, there's so much more to do. But, yeah. And you mentioned, like, the ankle monitor.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
I do get deported in the... But it also is going to confuse people, because how did you get deported? But there's a thing. It's actually very, very common.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
It's very, very common. You can get deported and released on your own recognizance, which means you're deported, but you can stay. Right. But you're deported. Yeah.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Yeah, because you're stateless. No, but this is apparently a really common thing, whether you're stateless or not. I thought, you know, you don't want Palestinians returning anyway, so stop. You're not going to deport them. We're going to deport you back to where? Oh, you're Palestinian. Stay in Houston. Relax a little bit. We'll give you a work permit, do your thing.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
But, no, it's apparently, like, really, really common. I forgot what the percentage is, but it's in, like, the 30-plus percentile. Oh, wow. Where people get deported regularly, but they can stay.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
His brain almost short-circuited.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
It is a real thing. We had someone consult on the show who actually was in a detention center and was random. It's all at random. You get an ankle device... Just like, hey, you know, you're number seven. Sorry. The first six didn't get it, but... But you got it. And then... Yeah, that's not real to my life, but when I heard about it, I'm like, we got to put that in the show.
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
It's going to be hilarious because the guy could chime in at any moment in time and be like, please tell me your location. Like, that could really... I mean, how embarrassing and horrible is that?
The Daily Show: Ears Edition
Jon on Trump’s Trade War, Attacks on DEI & Myth of “Meritocracy” | Mo Amer
Thank you so much, man.