Rob Schneider is defending his comedy after being asked to end his set early at a June fundraiser.
During the event for the Hospitals of Regina Foundation in Canada, audience members walked out in protest. Many were "yelling" at Schneider, upset over what they saw as controversial remarks.
Schneider, who is also singer Elle King's father, sees this backlash as a sign he's "doing it right."
He told The Hollywood Reporter, "The thing about free speech is, free speech is all speech. Free speech isn’t for the nice stuff. It isn’t for the socially acceptable stuff. Free speech is the speech that challenges you."
"Free speech is the not-nice stuff," Schneider continued. "Easy speech or speech that’s acceptable to everybody doesn’t need any protection. I’m there to challenge the audience."
He believes "challenging" comedy is a marker of success. "People get upset about things now. And that’s OK," Schneider said. "I think the more challenging the comedy is and society is, the more interesting the stand-up and art is going to be."
He added, "When everything’s smooth, art is boring. So the ’90s could have been kind of boring, but this is a good time now, and it’s a challenging time."
Schneider also shared how "lovely" it is that Adam Sandler, his longtime friend, "always includes me." He recounted how Sandler called him to "come out here," and "the next thing you know" Schneider was performing with him for his "Love You" comedy special.
The two have shared the screen in several movies, including "Grown Ups," "The Waterboy," and "Big Daddy."