The Standup comedian became popular overnight after a man called 911 after seeing his show the night before at Off The Hook Comedy Club. The American comedian took a few moments Monday to sit down with the Naples Daily News’ David Osborn to discuss how it has opened a discussion about race and more. H. Leo Kim, Naples Daily NewsComedian is back in Florida, where 1½ weeks ago a man called 911 on him after his joke about Middle Easterners.

The story went worldwide, and the comedian says he’s enjoying the newfound fame that he realizes won’t last long. Off The Hook Comedy Club owner, Brien Spina invited him back to Naples because so many called requesting to see the comedian’s standup. He performs at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the club with a few tickets remaining. “This call that was made on me has gathered me so much press, I want to thank the guy, thank you so much,” he said Monday afternoon in a sit-down interview at the club. “You can’t buy this kind of press.”

USA Today, the New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, Fox News, TMZ, the BBC, and other news organizations picked up the story. The Comedian describes what happened during his show at Off the Hook Comedy Club in Naples, Florida on May 11, 2019, that prompted an audience member to call 911. Courtesy Ahmed, Naples Daily News. His performance May 11 at Off The Hook prompted a man who attended to call 911 on May 12 — Mother’s Day — to complain about the comedian.

The comedian, who currently calls Malaysia home —has conducted interviews with Southwest Florida media Monday and Tuesday leading up to his Wednesday night show. He said the story has sparked a global conversation in social media about racism and freedom of speech. “It’s 15 minutes of fame that will go away, we all know that,” he said.”So it’s nice to kind of grab it, shake it up a little bit, put a magnifying glass on it and keep the awareness out there.”It’s a larger conversation, it’s a bigger message happening now. It doesn’t even have anything to do with me anymore.”