Rob Schneider's Biggest Scandals: Whitewashing, Offensive Jokes and More

Rob Schneider's scandals and controversies have increasingly overshadowed his career in recent years.

The controversial comedian shared one of his infamous statements, yet after Robin Williams died by suicide on August 11, 2014. While authorities confirmed the late Mork & Mindy alum was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his death, Schneider suggested Parkinson's medications contributed to his passing.

"Now that we can talk about it. #RobinWilliams was on a drug treating the symptoms of Parkinson's. One of the SIDE-EFFECTS IS SUICIDE!" he tweeted.

Schneider shared another post, which read, "The Evil pharmaceutical industry ADMITS TO OVER 100,000 people in the USA DIE A YEAR FROM 'PRESCRIPTION' DRUGS!! #RobinWilliams."

In a 2012 interview with News10 Sacramento, the former Saturday Night Live star erroneously claimed vaccines could cause autism.

"It's illegal. You can't make people do procedures that they don't want," he said. "The parents have to be the ones who make the decisions for what's best for our kids. It can't be the government saying that. It's against the Nuremberg Laws."

The laws Schneider mentioned were antisemitic and racist laws created by the N---- in 1935.

Schneider, who is part Filipino, has been slammed for playing characters of different ethnicities in his films, including a Middle Eastern delivery guy in Big Daddy and a native Hawaiian in 50 First Dates.

In an opinion piece for The New York Times, he highlighted the lack of opportunities for Asians in Tinseltown.

"However, I also believe that Hollywood should give roles to the most talented person irrespective of ethnicity, race or in my case 'looks,'" part of his article read.

For years, Schneider has openly spoken against vaccines and the LGBTQ+ community.

In 2012, he joined a protest against AB 2019, which would require parents to obtain a doctor's signature for children's vaccine exemptions.

"At a certain point, you have to draw a line in the sand, and people have to put their hands up and be counted for," he told the crowd.

Two years later, State Farm dropped Schneider and removed his ad due to his anti-vaccination views.

"State Farm advertising is intended to inform and entertain," it said in a public statement. "This particular ad has unintentionally been used as a platform for discussion unrelated to the products and services we provide. With that, we are working to remove the ad from our rotation at this time."

In response to the development, Schneider quoted George Washington by writing on a tweet: "If the Freedom of Speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter."

He also retweeted a link to a 2013 interview, during which he declared the idea that "vaccines don't injure people" was a "fallacy."

"Two billion dollars have been paid out to people who have been vaccine injured or died in the United States. This is a real thing," he said in an article.

Then, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Schneider shared a series of tweets urging his followers not to get vaccinated.

The Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo actor stirred the pot again when he shared anti-vaccine and anti-trans jokes during a charity event at the Hospitals of Regina Foundation's Four Seasons Ball. The audience members booed him at the time, and his performance prompted his removal from the stage.

"Everyone in the room was groaning, saying, 'What is going on?' Like whispering to themselves. Not a single laugh at times," event attendee Tynan Allan told CBC. "It was just very apparent how uncomfortable everyone felt and how unacceptable the things he was talking about were."

The foundation also released a statement addressing the controversy and explaining why they decided to end Schneider's performance.

"While we recognize that in a free and democratic society individuals are entitled to their views and opinions and that comedy is intended to be edgy, the content, positions and opinions expressed during Mr. Schneider's set do not align with the values of our Foundation and team," the statement read. "We do not condone, accept, endorse or share Mr. Schneider's positions, as expressed during his comedy set and acknowledge that in this instance the performance did not meet the expectations of our audience and our team."

His eldest daughter, Elle King, responded to the backlash during an appearance on Bunnie XO's "Dumb Blonde" podcast.

"I disagree with a lot of the things that he says," the singer-songwriter, who reportedly goes "four or five years" without speaking to her father, said. "You're talking out of your a-- and you're talking s--- about drag and, you know, anti-gay rights and it's like get f-----. He's just talking out of his a-- and I want to use this opportunity to say that I disagree. I do not agree with what he says."

While Schneider apologized to her after the scandal, King said it "means nothing."

"What I will say is the best thing that came from that is that my incredible LGBTQ+ community knows that they have an ally in me," she continued. "And if that's the biggest thing to come out of that platform, then I would've done it 10 more f------ times because I am an ally, they have one in me, and I'm grateful."

Even a public call-out from King did not slow Schneider's controversial remarks.

Following Dikembe Mutombo's death due to brain cancer on September 30, 2024, the Big Daddy star made an unsubstantiated claim that the professional basketball icon died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

"Rest in Peace… I'm sure this is just (another) coincidence," he tweeted. "But I took a pass on the Jab and I'm gonna not let anyone I know (and who will Listen) get it either!"

After John Lewis refused to attend Donald Trump's 2017 inauguration, Schneider called out the late American civil rights activist, who, in reality, personally knew Martin Luther King Jr.

"You are a great person. But Dr. King didn't give in to his anger or his hurt. That is how he accomplished and won Civil Rights," he shared in a since-deleted tweet.

Social media users criticized Schneider for "whitesplaining" Martin Luther King Jr. Day and lecturing Lewis, who walked with King Jr. during James Meredith's "March Against Fear" in June 1966.

Schneider pushed another baseless narrative when he claimed children did not get sick while he was growing up in the 1960s.

"FYI… There were NO Children's Hospitals when I was a kid. Because kids weren't sick," he tweeted.