Published on: Aug 18, 2025 02:33 pm IST
In a recent podcast, Pakistani-American actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani also recalled another awkward moment involving Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg
Pakistani-American actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani has revealed that tech mogul Elon Musk was not a fan of the popular comedy show, Silicon Valley.
Speaking on Mike Birbiglia’s podcast Working It Out, the 47-year-old actor recalled how the Tesla chief had a problem with the very first episode of the HBO comedy. “He didn’t like the show,” Nanjiani said, explaining that Elon was “upset” about the show’s opening scene. The pilot begins with Kid Rock playing at a lavish tech party where the crowd is visibly bored, something Elon took issue with. According to Kumail, the billionaire brushed it off by saying the parties he attended were “much cooler” than the ones depicted on screen.
“It was like, ‘Yeah, man. You’re one of the richest people in the world. We’re, like, losers on the show. Of course your parties are better than my parties. What are you talking about?’” Kumail recalled.
The Eternals actor also recounted another awkward moment involving Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. In 2016, Kumail and his Silicon Valley co-star Martin Starr were invited to present at the Breakthrough Awards, an event co-founded by Mark to celebrate the world’s leading scientists. On stage, the pair decided to revive a notorious gag from the show’s first season finale, where a character jokingly calculates how long it would take to give sexual favours to an entire conference room. They retooled the crude bit for the awards ceremony, but it backfired immediately.
“He was like, ‘What the f**k was that?’” Kumail recalled of Mark’s reaction. “And truly in that moment he was right,” he added.
Despite these encounters, Silicon Valley went on to become one of the most acclaimed comedies. Over its six-season run, the show earned critical praise and multiple Emmy nominations for its sharp satire of the tech industry and the culture surrounding it. While it found a devoted fanbase for exposing the absurdities of startup life, Kumail’s anecdotes show that some of the world’s most powerful tech leaders didn’t always appreciate being in on the joke.
