Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years

Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years is a deeply personal and introspective hour in which Burr explores themes like male sadness, aging, and relationships. The special also touches on political and social topics. It was filmed at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington, and marks his return to stand-up after three years.

Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years Review

While never a conservative himself, thanks to his fearless takes on feminism, a shared loathing for weak, ineffectual men, and his distinctly masculine rage at the treatment of men in modern society, Bill Burr has been a fan favorite for many on the Right for years. However, over the past decade or so, noticeably starting with his mark-missing observations on religion in his 2014 Netflix special “I’m Sorry You Feel That Way,” Burr’s perspective has been slowly sliding from the purple to death-of-his-career blue.

One wonders at the change. Burr has lived in Los Angeles since the 90s, but it seems not unreasonable to guess that both his recent rise to prominence and affluence, as well as his marriage to a vocal leftist, has had something to do with it. After all, both of those occurred at roughly the same time– a little over 10 years ago. Has the California Bubble finally got him, has he been Yoko’d? Who can say? Those who have been paying attention lament the onetime firebrand’s apparent transition into a wealthy liberal white woman.

Only days ago, Burr criticized Elon Musk for giving what Burr claims was a Nazi salute at a rally as the fiscally pragmatic billionaire awkwardly attempted to express his love and gratitude to a crowd of supporters. This is a goose-stepping 180° turn from the man who just a few years ago pointed out the liberal tendency to label anyone whom they didn’t like Hitler.

Just a few years ago Bill Burr was making fun of the “everyone I don’t like is Hitler” people.

X Marks the Spot - Follow us Today!! Follow @worthitorwoke

He has literally become the thing he used to make fun of. pic.twitter.com/VqBr0LChtU

— MAZE (@mazemoore) March 15, 2025

Regrettably, for any holding out hope that his newest special, Drop Dead Years, would mark a return to the angry curmudgeon who once split our sides with edgy observations about how to win an argument with a woman, you will be better off watching the old stuff and forgetting about what the one-time great has to say now.

Drop Dead Years isn’t a terrible stand-up special. Burr is a seasoned pro whose timing and delivery remain top-notch. However, his opening ten-minute riff on the nature of war is so detached from reality that it lacks the fundamental “truth” that underpins great comedy, leaving the bit amusing only to those who share his deeply misguided perspective. There’s a reason that the special was filmed in Seattle.

This rocky opening casts a shadow over much of Drop Dead Years, further weighed down by a string of equally flawed takes on racism, gun ownership, and politics scattered throughout. The stark contrast between the old and new Burr becomes especially apparent when he performs a bit within a bit, reflecting on how his younger, “less evolved” self would have tackled a situation. For a brief moment, he resurrects the Burr of the past, launching into one of his classic rants about refusing to waste a rare day off on something lame—and it hits harder than anything else in the special.

Former comedian Bill Burr claims only White people have free speech in America, citing the KKK.

“You name one other f*cking race that can do that… The reason why they still f*cking exist is because they don’t f*ck with White people… If they the did to White people what the… pic.twitter.com/9RR1WNBtJI

— AF Post (@AFpost) March 16, 2025

Burr also spends a not insignificant amount of time discussing men’s emotions in the special. Although it’s among the funniest bits of Drop Dead Years, it’s also well-trodden territory for him that fans of his old routines will recognize as barely reworded retreads.

The fall of great men is never an occasion to celebrate, and Burr’s descent into mediocrity should be mourned. It’s not just the loss of his once razor-sharp wit that stings, but the realization that a performer who once seemed fearless in his comedic exploration has become bogged down by trite political rants and repetitive tropes. What was once a thrilling voice in comedy now feels watered down and devoid of vision, and that is a genuine tragedy.

WOKE ELEMENTS

War, What Is It Good For? How About Saving Your Society From Despots?

• Burr’s understanding of war in general and the war in Gaza specifically are overly simplistic to the point of meaninglessness. In the special, he says that he doesn’t understand war and asks the question of how anyone can support one side over the other– “whose kids deserve to live more than the other”.
  • He specifically calls out the war in Gaza and dismisses the argument that the Palestinians use their own children as human shields. His suggestion is to “work around it.” As if it were that easy.
  • War is obviously terrible, but when a group brings war to your doorstep, threatening to kill ALL of your children and you as well, what exactly is the alternative?

Merica

• He dismisses gun ownership because training at the range doesn’t adequately simulate the conditions of a home invasion.
  • Everyone who goes to the range knows this. That doesn’t mean that it’s not valuable.
• He makes fun of people who own semi-automatic weapons because all you should need are six shots (i.e. a revolver)

Everything Is Racist

• He says that all conservatives are racist.
• He claims that everyone with a pickup truck sporting a large American Flag is a racist.
• He says that all those who wear an excessive amount of patriotic clothing are racist.
• The Proud Boys (a group founded by a Latino) are a hate group.
• He makes the claim that freedom of speech is only for white people.
• He has the audacity to claim that white hate groups like the KKK are allowed to exist because they don’t “f### with white people.”
  • As an example, he asks if anyone remembers “911 when those brown people knocked down those two perfectly good white buildings?” To him, this was an instance when white people were given an excuse to wipe out a bunch of brown people.
  • He then says, “Tell me another race that can march in the streets with semi-automatic weapons and can burn churches down.”
    • Um… did his television not work when BLM rioters burned down billions of dollars worth of property including setting fire to a police station… with police in it?
      • The modern archetypical Democrat extraordinaire, Kamala Harris, bailed those animals out of jail.
• He goes on and on about the KKK for quite some time, as though anyone thinks that they are relevant, sane, or effectual. To hear him, one would think that there’s a KKK rallie in every town square in America every week with crowds of sympathetic lawmakers nodding along.

Power Bottom

• Burr says it’s homophobic for a man to not want another man touching and rubbing his bare oiled back during a massage.