Nate Bargatze and other “nice” white guys are the subject of ire in comedian W. Kamau Bell‘s latest Substack essay, titled “It Is So Easy To Not Do This.” Bell rips Bargatze for attending the UFC Freedom 250 fights at Donald Trump‘s White House earlier this month. Bargatze, one of the country’s top-selling comedians, has faced backlash and accusations of being MAGA after attending the event and taking photos with Trump’s allies.
“Recently, some people who want us to think of them as ‘nice’ and ‘good’ have acted ‘surprised’ when the public has been surprised to see evidence of these ‘nice’ and ‘good’ people willingly associating with proud fascists,” Bell wrote before listing out tips for these people, starting with the following: “Don’t be in a photo with fascists.”
Captioning a photo of Bargatze at the UFC event with RFK Jr. and Cheryl Hines, Bell wrote: “Notorious nice and good guy comedian Nate Bargatze at the UFC Freedom 250 cage fights at the White House. If you ever saw me in a photo with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., you can be guaranteed that my family was being threatened.”
Bell’s other tips included: “The easiest way to not be photographed with fascists is to not go to places where fascists coagulate,” “If you do go to a place where fascists are coagulating, then you had better have a good reason… like a John Brown/’Inglorious Basterds’ good reason,” and “If you don’t have a good reason to be hanging out with fascists, then congratulations! You are now a member of Team Fascism.”
“No one cares how much you wanted to see the fights at the White House,” Bell continued. “The White House is currently registered as the home of a fascist… If you don’t want to be a member of Team Fascism, then after we see you with fascists, it is up to you to actively and immediately begin digging yourself out of the fascism hole and working your way back to the correct side of history. For the record, a statement from your rep or a social media post–or really anything short of immediate real world action doesn’t count.”
Bargatze has yet to publicly speak on his attendance at the UFC Freedom 250 fights and the ensuing backlash. His silence on the matter has also been called into question by various media outlets. A source close to Bargatze stressed that the comedian attended the event because UFC is his “favorite sport,” which means his attendance was “not political.”
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