Mo Amer unpacks the pressure of being a Palestinian American comedian

Mo Amer should feel on top of the world right now. His semi-autobiographical TV series Mo is one of Netflix's most celebrated comedy dramas, and he's currently on a massive stand-up tour, with one stop in Toronto next week.

But in an interview with Q's Tom Power, Amer says his success is tempered by a pretty significant internal conflict. As a Palestinian American comedian with a major platform, he's had to think deeply about how to address the ongoing war in Gaza, particularly as he wrapped up writing Season 2 of Mo in late 2023.

"I thought it would be a happy time — this is the worst time," Amer tells Power. "I'm the only Palestinian in the game. Everybody's coming at me left and right: 'What are you going to say? What are you going to do?' … [I'm] walking such an insane tightrope to fulfill this kind of show."

For the latest season of Mo, Amer opted out of talking about the events on Oct. 7 by setting the finale to end on Oct. 6, 2023.

"It's pressure from everything," he says. "From either side. It's not just the Palestinian side. It's easy for me to be Palestinian because I'm Palestinian. It's easy to tell a Palestinian story because I'm Palestinian. Now, you have to factor in, [does] the show exist in a post-October 7th world? And every time I explored that, it was like a death blow to the whole show…. So I refused. I said no."

[I'm] walking such an insane tightrope.- Mo Amer

Though Amer has gone to great lengths to make his work feel sincere, grounded and never inflammatory, he says walking that tightrope still feels "extremely dangerous" at times.

"I'm Palestinian making a TV show in Hollywood," he tells Power. "What I did is very, very difficult to do. It's a story not just about Palestinians, but also it's an immigration story, it's Latinos, it's Houston, it's all these layers that you have to unpackage. You got to be careful how you put that story together."

But despite the increased pressure and scrutiny he's facing, Amer says it's all been worth it. After his stand-up shows, he's had emotional conversations with people of all different ages and backgrounds, some of whom are refugees who fled Gaza.

"I'm talking to doctors that were on the ground in Gaza," he says. "I've met kids — amputee children — I've held them in my own arms. They've come to see my show and tell me they watched the show in Gaza. That is as rewarding as it gets…. So those are the kind of conversations I'm having. Everybody's like, 'Oh, you must be having a blast touring!' Don't get me wrong, being on stage is the best rest I get. Being on the actual stage is the best time that I have. Everything after that is just a ton of pain in the heart."

The full interview with Mo Amer is available on our YouTube channel and on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts.

Interview with Mo Amer produced by Ben Edwards.