Russian-British comedian on why his anti-woke speech resonated with millions: 'Adults are afraid of children'

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Konstantin Kisin: We need young people to step up

Comedian Konstantin Kisin discusses his viral video and the erosion of free speech on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'

Russian-British satirist and podcast host Konstantin Kisin believes his recent speech obliterating woke culture went viral because he spoke bluntly to a younger audience that had been coddled.

In an interview on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Wednesday, Kisin addressed the outpouring of support he received after his speech at Oxford Union Society garnered millions of views globally. He said he believes his speech resonated with so many because he articulated an argument honestly and directly to a younger audience that has become accustomed to hand-holding and kid-glove treatment in today's woke  culture.

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"We live in a society in which adults are afraid of children and young people in particular," Kisin told Tucker Carlson. "And so when you see somebody who is an adult talking to young people and being straight with them and saying, look if you care about certain issues in the world, if you care about climate change or racial injustice, whining and complaining is not going to fix that problem, we need young people to step up and actually work and build and create things…that is going to help solve all the problems of the future. I think that’s one of the reasons it’s gone so viral."

Kisin's viral speech took place during a debate at the Oxford Union Society this week, in which he argued that woke culture has gone "too far" and has caused young people to "forget" that the only way to "improve the world" is through hard work and innovation.

"We know that the way to improve the world is to work, is to create, is to build and the problem with woke culture is that it has trained to many young minds like yours to forget about that," he said. 

In his address to the centuries-old debate society, Kisin argued that while younger generations care more about climate change than in the past, they lack the motivation and work ethic to make significant breakthroughs on the issue. Instead, he said, they are victimized and "brainwashed" to believe that the only way to contribute to the problem is to "complain."

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Russian-British comedian Konstantin Kisin speaks during debate at the Oxford Union Society. (Screenshot/Youtube/OxfordUnion)

"There is only one thing we can do in this country to stop climate change and that is to make scientific and technological breakthroughs that will create the clean energy that is not only clean but also cheap," Kisin said. "The only thing wokeness has to offer in exchange is to brainwash bright young minds like you to believe that you are victims, to believe that you have no agency, to believe that what you must do to improve the world is to complain, is to protest, is to throw soup on paintings." 

The comment was in reference to anti-oil protesters who hurled tomato soup at a Vincent van Gogh painting in London's National Gallery last month.

Kisin told Carlson that through his research, he understood that ‘wokeness’ in society is "fundamentally anti-human."

"The narrative goes something like this. We are evil, particularly westerners, especially straight White men like you. But actually all of us are evil, and we must be punished," he said on "Tucker Carlson Tonight." "That’s why some of the solutions that we’re being offered to the issue of climate change don’t seem to make much sense.

Kisin said he felt compelled to challenge the prevailing viewpoint on campus. He argued that while many young thinkers have succumbed to a "woke" academic culture, "young people are persuadable" if presented with a rational argument.

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"We’ve got to believe that young people are persuadable. We have to make rational arguments to them. That is, I think, the way to deal with many of these problems. We’ve got to challenge young people to step up and be better," he told Carlson.

"I think we all have to embrace that approach," Kisin continued. "I think we’re not going to get anywhere by chastising people. We have to try and persuade them. We’ve got to remember, Tucker, they’re young minds. We were all young once and wee were just as idiotic and stubborn and so sure of ourselves that we thought we knew everything. I think we’ve got to fight to change people’s minds. The way to do that is with rational argument and encouraging critical thinking, which is what I hope my speech has done."

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Kisin said the feedback to his speech has been "incredible," saying he hasn't "really received any negative feedback at all. "

"It’s been very, very positive," he reflected. "I’m very grateful for that."

Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.