The Riyadh Comedy Festival in the capital of Saudi Arabia began on Friday, with top comedians including Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, Aziz Ansari, Louis C.K., Pete Davidson, Jo Koy, and Jimmy Carr on the robust roster of performers. However, the comics have received backlash from their peers for reportedly accepting hefty paychecks in exchange for taking part in an event that Human Rights Watch said is being used to deflect attention from the country’s “brutal repression of free speech.”
On Monday, David Cross published a statement to his website condemning some of his “HEROES” for participating in the festival. “I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing. That people I admire, with unarguable talent, would condone this totalitarian fiefdom for…what, a fourth house? A boat? More sneakers?” wrote Cross. “We can never again take seriously anything these comedians complain about (unless it’s complaining that we don’t support enough torture and mass executions of journalists and LGBQT peace activists here in the states, or that we don’t terrorize enough Americans by flying planes into our buildings).”
He continued to call out “Dave and Louie and Bill, and Jim,” adding, “Clearly you guys don’t give a shit about what the rest of us think, but how can any of us take any of you seriously ever again? All of your bitching about ‘cancel culture’ and ‘freedom of speech’ and all that shit? Done. You don’t get to talk about it ever again. By now we’ve all seen the contract you had to sign.”
Cross slammed the comics for “performing for literally, the most oppressive regime on earth. They have SLAVES for fuck’s sake!!!”
In a press release published last week, watchdog group Human Rights Watch urged comedians participating in the festival to call on Saudi authorities to “free unjustly detained Saudi dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists.” The statement highlighted that the festival takes place on the seventh anniversary of the 2018 assassination of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi, who a U.S. intelligence assessment concluded was murdered by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
In a stand-up clip, Comedian Marc Maron also denounced the festival for being “from the folks that brought you 9/11.” Meanwhile, Shane Gillis criticized the event festival, recently saying he turned down a “significant bag” after taking a “principled stand.”
Atsuko Okatsuka took to Threads to share she turned down an offer to perform at the Riyadh festival. “The money is coming straight from the Crown Prince, who actively executes journalists, ppl with nonlethal drug offenses, bloggers, etc without due process,” she wrote in a post. “A lot of the ‘you can’t say anything anymore!’ Comedians are doing the festival … they had to adhere to censorship rules about the types of jokes they can make.”
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