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.”
