The Riyadh Comedy Festival is an annual festival that takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between Sept. 26 and Oct. 9. Sponsors and organizers invite some of the biggest names in comedy to come and perform, paying them handsomely for their work. The event has caused controversy over the last month between comics and audiences, and rightfully so.
Saudi Arabia has become known partially for their poor human rights. The country ranks second in the use of the death penalty and killed 81 men in March 2022. The country allows no free speech, free media and press and no LGBTQ+ rights. There are plenty of other ways Saudi Arabia defies human rights, but these are some of the most egregious ones.
The denial of freedom of speech is very interesting, as comedy can really only work in an environment that allows for the freedom of speech. Comedians have complained about the censorship of comedy and an apparent fear of making jokes about certain topics in America, where freedom of speech is a core part of national identity. So why do they go to Saudi Arabia despite this problem?
Notable comedians that attended the festival include Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Jimmy Carr, Pete Davidson, Tom Segura, Kevin Hart and Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias.
All of the comedians were shamed by other comics and fans for accepting the deal to perform, with one of them, Jessica Kirson, apologizing for attending and donating her fee to a human rights organization.
Each of the comedians got paid very well to attend and perform at the comedy festival, with Tim Dillon claiming he was offered $375,000 for a set, while others were likely paid over a million dollars.
Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka turned down the offer to attend and perform at the festival, also sharing an excerpt of a contract each of the comedians had to adhere to. The contract allegedly included bans on language that would degrade the Saudi Arabian government or its policies about religion.
British comedian Rosie Holt weighed her opinion expressing how rare that contract is for a comedy event. All of the comedians who attended stayed far away from that topic, never mentioning the Saudi government in a bad light. If the government was mentioned at all it was actually for praise.
Shane Gillis, one of the biggest names in comedy, rejected an offer to attend taking a principled stand. He, along with other comedians who did not attend, has been applauded by coworkers and the general public, who view the other comics as “selling out.”
The most recognizable comedian in attendance was Chappelle, and when asked why he attended and his thoughts on performing, he said stand-up is more suitable in Saudi Arabia than it is in the United States.
This is appalling, as in August 2023, a retired school teacher was arrested and sentenced to death over posts on the social platform X and YouTube denouncing alleged corruption and human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia. This is just one case of thousands and it goes to show how wrong Chappelle is about how fortunate he is to be doing comedy in America.
Chappelle went on to say he was nervous about returning to the U.S. saying, “they’re going to do something to me so that I can’t say what I want to say.” Similar comments were made by Burr, calling the festival a “top three experience.”
To me, it is abhorrently clear how much money Chappelle and Burr were paid to perform and promote their experience in Saudi Arabia. In the last decade or so, Saudi Arabia has worked to “clean up” their image regarding human rights and promote events to shed some light on their country.
Whether it be through sport, comedy, architecture or tourist attractions, I hope people don’t forget the strictness and little freedom the people in Saudi Arabia are subject to. The comics who attend throw out what morals they had for money, ignoring and growing complicit to the cruelty within Saudi Arabia.
