"He was born in Kuwait, to Palestinian-refugee parents. When he was nine, the Iraqi military invaded, sparking the Gulf War, and Amer's family had to flee. His father was being held mistakenly as a political prisoner, and his mother sewed wads of cash into the lining of a purse and a suitcase and led her children across the border to safety."
"Amer told me that he has always felt an obligation to speak not only as a Muslim or as an Arab but from the more specific perspective of a Palestinian American comic. ("I'm the only one," he said.) This feeling grew more acute after the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and the Israeli military's assault on Gaza. In November, 2023, Amer filmed a mostly improvised set in Washington, D.C., working through his react"
Mo Amer blends Palestinian refugee history and Southern persona into his comedy, adopting a kaffiyeh and cowboy hat as part of his public image. He was born in Kuwait to Palestinian-refugee parents, fled during the Gulf War, and grew up in Houston, inspiring specials titled The Vagabond and Mohammed in Texas. His stage persona mixes Southern charm, streetwise acuity, and Gulf-region accents. Amer centers a Palestinian-American viewpoint in his material, a responsibility intensified after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 and Israel's assault on Gaza. He filmed a largely improvised Washington, D.C., set in November 2023 to work through reactions and the weight of addressing Palestine in his special Wild World, while also recounting flights on Jimmy Kimmel's jet and a beef with Jerry Seinfeld.
Read at The New Yorker
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