Become a Member ![\\"snopes](\\"/design/images/logo-main.png\\"/) Search My Profile Logout Submit a Rumor Latest Trending News & Politics Entertainment Fact Checks Quiz Sections Latest Trending Fact Checks News Collections More Contact Us Submit a Rumor Archives Quiz FactBot Newsletters About Us Categories News & Politics Entertainment Science & Technology Lifestyle Free accounts support our journalism Become a Member Login My Profile Logout ![\\"republican_symbol\\"](\\"/design/images/republican_symbol.png\\"/) Snopes fact-checked the vice presidential debate live! Read more here ![\\"democrat_symbol\\"](\\"/design/images/democrat_symbol.png\\"/) Fact Check # Did Bill Burr Philosophize About \'Sleeping on a Futon When You\'re 30\'? ## A popular meme quoted the stand-up comic philosophizing about risk, reward, and futons. ### Dan MacGuill ### Published Aug. 5, 2021 ![\\"Los](\\" Image courtesy of Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Claim: Comedian Bill Burr once said \"Sleeping on a futon when you\'re 30 is not the worst thing\" and \"There\'s a tremendous amount of risk to playing it safe.\" Rating: Correct Attribution About this rating Context The quotation presented in a popular meme removed numerous curse words, but was otherwise a loyal representation of something Burr said during a March 2012 episode of his Monday Morning Podcast. Advertisement: In the summer of 2021, an old quote widely attributed to the comedian Bill Burr re-emerged online. In it, the Boston comic riffs on status, happiness, risk, and \"sleeping on a futon when you\'re 30.\" For example, on Aug. 4, popular posts on Reddit and Imgur featured a meme containing a photograph of Burr, and the following quotation: > Realize that sleeping on a futon when you\'re 30 is not the worst thing. You > know what\'s worse, sleeping in a king bed next to a wife you\'re not really > in love with but for some reason you married, and you got a couple of kids, > and you got a job you hate. You\'ll be laying there fantasizing about > sleeping on a futon. There\'s no risk when you go after a dream. There\'s a > tremendous amount of risk to playing it safe. — Bill Burr ![\\"\\"](\\" Advertisement: The quotation was a substantially, though not entirely accurate transcription of something Burr said back in 2012, and as such we are issuing a rating of \"Correct Attribution.\" The version shown in the meme significantly cleaned up the language of the original, which — reader\'s note — is littered with curse words. The quotation originated in a March 2012 episode of Burr\'s popular and long- running Monday Morning Podcast, and can be listened to further below. Responding to a reader who had emailed him about his love of dancing, Burr turned to the subject of pursuing one\'s dream, and the fear of failure: > ...Your big fear should be what everybody\'s big fear is. Like \"What if I > fucking go after this dream, and I\'m 30, and I\'m sleeping on a fucking > futon, and it hasn\'t happened yet?\" Well I\'ve got to tell you something, > Sir — I\'ve been there. I was there at fucking 34, I was still sleeping on a > futon in a fucking studio apartment that they called a \"one-bedroom\" \'cos > they slammed a fucking wall in there and put a door on it. > > ...All you\'ve got to do, you\'ve just got to commit to this shit, and then > realize that, you know, sleeping on a futon when you\'re 30 is not the worst > thing. It isn\'t. You know what\'s worse than sleeping on a futon at 30? > Sleeping in a king bed next to a fucking woman you\'re not really in love > with but for some reason married. And you\'ve got a couple of kids and > you\'ve got a job that you fucking hate. Ok? You\'ll be laying there > fantasizing about fucking sleeping on a futon. > > There\'s no risk when you go after a dream. It\'s all fucking reward. It\'s > all going to lead to something good. It always does. There\'s a tremendous > amount of risk to playing it safe, and that leads to unbelievable levels of > regret — which is something else I\'ve also experienced, because I\'m an old > motherfucker. Advertisement: Advertisement: ### By Dan MacGuill Dan Mac Guill is a former writer for Snopes. ## Article Tags Entertainment Recommendations Advertisement: ![\\"Snopes.com\\"](\\"/design/images/logo-main.png\\") Company About Us FAQs Contact Us Submit a Topic Navigate Home Search Archive Newsletters Random Sections Latest Top Fact Checks News Account Join Login Game FactBot Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter © 1995 - 2024 by Snopes Media Group Inc. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com Terms of Use Privacy Policy DMCA Policy
Comedian Bill Burr once said Sleeping on a futon when You are 30 is not the worst thing and There's a tremendous amount of risk to playing it safe