Podcast Summary: The Bonfire with Big Jay Oakerson and Robert Kelly

Episode: The Ghost w/Will Guilmette & Yoshi Obayashi
Date: October 23, 2025
Host: SiriusXM
Guests: Yoshi Obayashi, Will Gilmette

Episode Overview

This episode of The Bonfire blends the show’s signature raw humor with fascinating dispatches from the global comedy scene and a rising boxing star’s journey. Big Jay Oakerson and Robert Kelly host comedians Yoshi Obayashi and Will Gilmette. Yoshi shares wild tales from the Riyadh Comedy Festival (Saudi Arabia), including colorful run-ins with the Bin Laden family, backstage dynamics among Western comics, and the cultural impact of American comedians performing in repressive regimes. Will, a young boxer known as “The Ghost,” provides a candid look at the nerve-racking transition from local amateur to professional fighter.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. Riyadh Comedy Festival: Culture Clashes & Comedy Diplomacy

(00:53 – 23:00)

• Yoshi’s Adventure Getting There
  • Coming off a European tour, Yoshi details the logistics and expense of attending the Riyadh festival, including visa challenges.

    "It's kind of expensive getting Visa insurance to get in. Not for Russell [Peters], but for me. But I got there two days before his show, so I was there for five days." (02:30, Yoshi)

• Surreal Backstage Encounters
  • Yoshi describes meeting one of Osama Bin Laden’s brothers in the VIP section (“there’s like 50 or 56 siblings, you know… I Just shook his hand”). He recounts a comically dark moment with Russell Peters and Bin Laden’s family.

    “Russell stood between [Bin Laden’s sons] and took a picture: ‘Hey look, Twin towers.’” (05:09, Yoshi)

• American Comics in Saudi Arabia
  • Yoshi chronicles packed houses for Russel Peters and Pete Davidson, describes greenroom life (no extravagance, “just a regular green room”), and debunks rumors that only the rich "sheikhs" could attend.

    "Tickets were relatively cheap... even Russell Peters tickets were like $20, $30." (15:04, Yoshi)

• Comedy as Cultural Exchange
  • Yoshi argues comedians are helping foment change, likening this to artists in the Cold War:

    “These comedians… brought subversive [ideas] just by talking to local people... This is good for the people of Saudi Arabia and every comedian to attack this festival, not one single one of them asks, well, what does the people in Saudi Arabia want?” (16:16, Yoshi)

• Critique of Comedian Backlash
  • He criticizes Western comics for virtue-signaling rather than genuinely supporting greater freedoms abroad.

    "All these comedians that don't know anything about that region... I think a lot of them are scumbags." (20:52, Yoshi)

• Notable Viral Moment
  • Jay jokes about the "butterfly effect" of 9/11:

    “Those buildings went down so we could have Pete Davidson films.” (08:15, Big Jay)

• Jessica Kirson’s Saudi Dilemma
  • Discussion on “jumping off the ship early” after taking the money ("She did it and then came back and was like, I shouldn't have done it." - 24:08, Big Jay), with Yoshi comparing comics’ choices to sex workers who later renounce their past.

2. Boxing, Race, and Family: Introducing Will “The Ghost” Gilmette

(30:09 – 62:00)

• First Professional Steps
  • Will, 23, shares his path (started boxing at 14, first pro fight in May at Foxwoods Casino). His nerves settled once he got hit—

    “After I got hit with that first punch, I was like, alright, that’s nothing.” (32:34, Will)

• Race, Showmanship, and ‘The Ghost’
  • Origin story: “They always bust my balls, you know... ‘The Ghost is here.’” (40:49, Will)
  • Candid, irreverent conversation about whether he notices bruises differently on Black vs. White opponents, leading to classic Bonfire riffing and boundary-pushing jokes.
• Training and Fighting Style
  • "I just like working the body, breaking ‘em down, then going for the headshot… work my jab, go to the body, then up top." (52:26, Will)
• Family & Community
  • Brother is his close supporter and firefighter; mother refuses to watch the knockouts.
  • Both bond over Providence/Rhode Island roots and “badge bunny” culture.
• On Violence, Restraint & Young Fame
  • Will stresses the importance of walking away—

    “I’ve heard stories: you hit a guy, he bounces his head off the ground, he dies…Definitely not worth it.” (49:04, Will)

• Choosing Walk-out Music
  • Debates on best ‘walk out’ songs (from Black Betty to old-school rap), with hosts riffing on boxers’ stage personas.
• Mother as a Gimmick
  • Jay’s tongue-in-cheek pitch:

    "I think your mom should go reluctantly to every fight and then fight the mother of the other fighter in the audience." (44:09, Big Jay)

3. Porn Biz & Wild Tangents with Yoshi

Throughout; 45:50+ in detail

• Yoshi’s Porn Career
  • Jay and Robert mine Yoshi’s past—cramming porn stars with milk, “prolapse” talk, and classic Bonfire gross-out humor.

    “Did you pour milk into the assholes of these porn stars? … But they’re experienced girls.” (51:31, Yoshi & Jay)

• General Raunch & Callback Jokes
  • Themes of greenroom weirdness, mock accusations (e.g., about Andrew Schulz), and digressions into sex, strippers, and Rhode Island’s legendary ‘badge bunnies.’

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Bin Laden’s Family at the Festival:

  “I just shook his hand… The reason I remember him—other people took a picture: ‘Hey look, Twin Towers.’”
  — Yoshi Obayashi, (05:09)

• On Saudi Youth and Comedy:

  “So many Saudi kids saw this person perform. He or she is going to say, 'I saw you perform 14, 15 years ago when I was a teenager. I'm a comedian now.' They made a world difference.”
  — Yoshi Obayashi, (13:57)

• On Western Hypocrisy:

  “In that logic, how do you perform in the USA? Because we kill people overseas all the time... You think all your audiences are wonderful people? You have rapists and murderers in your audience.”
  — Yoshi Obayashi, (18:22)

• Jay on 9/11, Comedy, and Pete Davidson:

  “Those buildings went down so we could have Pete Davidson films.”
  — Big Jay Okerson, (08:15)

• Will on Boxing Style:

  “I just like working the body, breaking them down, and then going for the headshot. Work my jab, set ‘em up, go to the body, get ‘em tired.”
  — Will Gilmette, (52:26)

• On Performing and Backlash:

  “There's so many comedians who'll criticize Bill Burr, but if they were given the opportunity to open for him, I bet you most of them would.”
  — Yoshi Obayashi, (20:00)

• Will on Restraint:

  “Once you’ve heard stories like you hit a guy, bounces his head off the ground, he dies, you know, Definitely not worth— I walk away all the time now.”
  — Will Gilmette, (49:04)

Structure & Timestamp Highlights

Comedy in Saudi Arabia

• 00:53–08:15: Yoshi's intro and surreal arrival in Riyadh
• 08:15–15:04: Bin Laden family, Pete Davidson, festival rumors
• 15:04–23:00: Ticket pricing, criticism of festival, Jessica Kirson’s post-festival reversal

Boxing with Will "The Ghost"

• 30:09–40:49: Will's career, nerves, race in boxing, family
• 40:49–52:43: Boxing strategy, persona, memorable school fight stories
• 53:03–57:30: Fighting dangers, learning restraint, street fights

Porn Industry & Classic Bonfire

• 45:50–52:00: Yoshi’s porn career, milk stunt stories
• Ongoing: Wild riffing, callbacks, Rhode Island strip clubs & culture

Tone & Style

• Blunt, brash, unfiltered comedy with a willingness to tackle taboo subjects.
• Self-deprecating, rapid-fire riffing with quick pivots between serious insights and NSFW bits.
• Absurdist detours: frequent callbacks to ongoing Bonfire lore, running jokes about fighting, the adult industry, and the oddities of East Coast culture.
• Respectful, ultimately affectionate toward guests, even while deploying dark or “wrong” jokes for comedic effect.

Conclusion

This episode of The Bonfire juggles reckless laughter, boundary-pushing jokes, and surprisingly thoughtful commentary about comedy as soft diplomacy in authoritarian states. Yoshi Obayashi provides a rare insider’s view of the Riyadh Comedy Festival, the complex ethics of performing for repressive regimes, and the power of entertainment to chip away at censorship. Will Gilmette brings an earnest, grounded counterpoint with stories of discipline, family, and the unseen dangers of being both a boxer and a young public figure. Together, these threads yield an episode as unpredictable and entertaining as the show’s reputation promises.

For more, including direct links to the episode and guests, visit SiriusXM Faction Talk, Channel 103, and The Bonfire’s official podcast feed.