Ronny Chieng Says Renouncing Malaysian Citizenship to Become a US Citizen Feels Like “Joining an Evil Empire”

Previously, we shared about popular comedian Ronny Chieng renouncing his Malaysian citizenship and how he was congratulated by legendary actor Bill Murray on becoming a US citizen during the taping of The Daily Show, the Comedy Central satirical news programme, of which Chieng is the host.

Recently, Chieng shared his experience of becoming a US citizen on Variety’s Awards Circuits Podcast, saying it was a “weird time to do it”.

Chieng revealed that he’s been planning to become a US citizen since he was 7 years old

The Malaysian-American actor added that becoming a US citizen was “30 years in the making” as he’s been trying to come back to the US since he left in 1993 when he was 7 years old.

The Johor-born comedian elaborated,

“I’ve been trying to come back to do stand-up comedy, and I finally got to come back in 2015, 10 years ago, and then citizenship 9 years later,”

He further revealed that becoming a US citizen was part of his goal to build a standup career in the country and that he had turned down offers to tour overseas all the time.

The Daily Show host asserted,

“I’ve been trying to come here… So it makes sense for me to get citizenship, because if I do leave the country, I know I can come back into the stuff that I’ve been building here.”

Chieng says becoming a US citizen now feels like “joining the evil empire”

However, Chieng jokingly admitted that his timing of becoming a US citizen was “weird”, given how the country has fallen out of favour with the rest of the world due to Donald Trump’s second term as President. 

He said,

“It’s weird to join. It’s like you’re joining this evil empire, but that’s not why you joined it. It just so happened, the evil empire had some really nice TV shows, and they do stand-up comedy in the Death Star.”

So, what do you guys think of Chieng’s statement? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Also read: Old Clip of Ronny Chieng Explaining Why He Loves the US Goes Viral After He Renounces M’sian Citizenship