W. Kamau Bell Criticizes Nate Bargatze Over White House UFC Event Attendance

Comedian W. Kamau Bell has taken aim at fellow stand-up performer Nate Bargatze over his attendance at a UFC event held at the White House earlier this month, which coincided with Donald Trump's 80th birthday.

The event drew multiple celebrity attendees, but Bargatze's presence sparked significant online attention after his representative issued a statement clarifying that the comedian is apolitical and simply enjoys UFC fights.

Bell responded by publishing an essay on his Substack titled "It Is So Easy To Not Do This," where he directly addressed what he views as problematic celebrity behavior. "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, concluding with the directive: "Don't be in a photo with fascists."

The comedian then shared a photograph showing Bargatze alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Cheryl Hines from the UFC Freedom 250 event. "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 captioned the image.

Bell expanded on his position in the essay, emphasizing that avoiding such situations requires minimal effort. "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."

He further stated that celebrities cannot simply issue statements to distance themselves from such appearances. "No one cares how much you wanted to see the fights at the White House. 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," Bell wrote.