At the age of 9, Amer, along with his siblings and mother, fled Kuwait during the Gulf War and immigrated to the United States, settling in Houston, Texas.
[4] At age 10, Amer attended a Bill Cosby performance at the Houston Astrodome,[3] and four years later, he discovered stand-up comedy at a Texas rodeo.
[7][8] An English teacher encouraged him to perform a monologue from Shakespeare in exchange for improving his grades, leading to Amer's interest in comedy.
[3] He began participating in high school theater and eventually started performing stand-up comedy[9][10] by impersonating family members.
[14] Amer has since performed in over 27 countries across five continents and was a part of the "Allah Made Me Funny" comedy tour with Preacher Moss and Azhar Usman starting in 2006.
[12][18] Amer's comedy has been featured in sold-out shows worldwide, including venues such as Royal Albert Hall, Hammersmith Apollo, and Shrine Auditorium.
[14] He has also appeared on television and radio, including NPR, BBC, and CNN,[14] and has been interviewed by major media outlets like The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and The Guardian.
[27] Amer also starred in the DC film Black Adam alongside Dwayne Johnson and was named Man of the Year by GQ in the UAE in 2022 .
[4] In October 2023, Amer signed an open letter for the "Artists4Ceasefire" campaign, along with other artists, urging President Joe Biden to advocate for a ceasefire during the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.