On September 9, 2006, the Opie and Anthony radio show’s Traveling Virus comedy tour made a stop at the Tweeter Center in Camden, New Jersey—just outside of Philadelphia. Among the stand-up comics who performed at the event were Patrice O’Neal, Tracy Morgan, Dom Irrera, and Bill Burr. Not everyone on the line-up had a great set, however, as the crowd of 10,000 was particularly unruly and disruptive. By the time Burr made his way to the stage, Irrera had already been mercilessly booed.
Annoyed by the way his fellow comics were being treated, Burr dropped his planned material and lit into the Philly audience for 12 minutes straight, attacking everything the city holds dear while constantly reminding them how much time he had left.
“The terrorists will never bomb you people cause you’re f—king worthless and no one cares about you,” he said early on in his rant. “FEMA would never show up for you f—king a—holes.”
The vulgarity and disrespect only increased from there.
Reliving Bill Burr’s Epic Roast of Philly 20 Years Later
“F—king Rocky is your hero. The whole pride of your city is built around a f—king guy who doesn’t even exist,” Burr told them at the four-minute mark. He also dedicated a significant chunk of time to talking about how bad their sports teams were. “F—k all of you and f—k the Liberty Bell, and shove it up Ben Franklin’s a—,” believe it or not, is one of the more printable statements that Burr made during his unhinged tirade that day—which, thankfully, was recorded by the people in attendance.
Though Burr reportedly received a standing ovation after wrapping things up, Bob Saget, who ran into him backstage, remembered Burr thinking that the set went poorly. “Bill, that was great. Are you kidding?” Saget insisted. Burr apparently was still dismissive of how well he did, and doesn’t like to discuss it, but the so-called “Philly rant” became a defining moment in the up-and-coming comic’s career.
You can check out the full NSFW recording of Burr’s legendary set above.