Comedians slam big stand-ups for performing at Saudi Arabia comedy festival after killing of journalists, censorship

Dave Chappelle. Bill Burr. Sebastian Maniscalco. Kevin Hart. Pete Davidson. Aziz Ansari. Hannibal Buress. Mo Amer. Jeff Ross. Chris Tucker.

These comedians and more are on the bill at the Riyadh Comedy Festival currently underway in Saudi Arabia.

Their participation in the event has drawn criticism from fans and fellow comedians, including some who were asked to perform there and declined.

The festival was the subject of a recent comedy clip from stand-up and podcaster Marc Maron.

“I mean, the same guy that’s gonna pay them is the same guy that paid that guy to bone-saw Jamal Khashoggi and put him in a f—ing suitcase,” Maron said, speaking of the journalist and Washington Post columnist who was murdered in 2018 by government agents in Saudi Arabia.

“But don’t let that stop the yuks, it’s gonna be a good time.”

“Full disclosure,” he continued. “I was not asked to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, so it’s kinda easy for me to take the high road on this one. Easy to maintain your integrity when no one’s offering to buy it out.”

Maron, a Jersey City native who spent part of his childhood in Wayne, wasn’t alone in his sentiment.

“Repression of free speech is no laughing matter,” the nonprofit Human Rights Watch said on Instagram. “Comedians performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, which falls during the seventh anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal murder, should use their platform to defend free speech in Saudi Arabia.”

The organization posted a video pointing out that some of these same comedians have spoken in support of free speech — a right that allows them to do their jobs.

“Will they use their platform to defend free speech in Saudi Arabia?” the group asked.

Another comedian, Zach Woods (“Silicon Valley,” “The Office”), addressed the Riyadh Comedy Festival in a satirical Instagram video.

“All of your favorite comedians are performing at the pleasure of Turki Al-Sheikh, and he is the head of the entertainment authority over there and he has so many people thrown in prison because they tweeted stuff he didn’t like about the soccer team or whatever, that there’s a wing of a prison nicknamed after him where they hang people by their heels from the ceiling,” said Woods, who was born in Trenton and grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

“Now, there’s a lot of drips, killjoys and dweebazoids who are saying ‘oh, they shouldn’t do comedy over there because it’s whitewashing a regime that just in June killed a journalist and killed Jamal Khashoggi and played a big role in 9/11.’ Shut up! Name one comedian who hasn’t whored themself out to a dictator.”

Woods went on to give several “examples” of this.

“Let’s not get our moral panties yanked up, wedge high in our rumps,” he said, pointing to the concerns of Human Rights Watch.

The journalist Woods referenced in his video is Turki al-Jasser, who was executed for high treason in Saudi Arabia after being detained for seven years.

Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka said she turned down the offer to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival.

Okatsuka shared the letter she received from the festival on Threads, along with censorship rules for performing there.

“The money is coming straight from the Crown Prince, who actively executes journalists, ppl with nonlethal drug offenses, bloggers, etc without due process,“ she said.

”A lot of the ‘you can’t say anything anymore!’ Comedians are doing the festival,“ Okatsuka said, using the crying-laughing emoji. ”They had to adhere to censorship rules about the types of jokes they can make.”

Those rules, which she shared, included a restriction that the comedians cannot “prepare or perform any material that may be considered to degrade, defame, or bring into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, embarrassment, or ridicule: A) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including its leadership, public figures, culture or people; B) The Saudi royal family, legal system, or government, and; C) Any religion, religious tradition, religious figure, or religious practice.”

Comedian Mike Birbiglia shared that he also passed on performing at the festival.

“Respect to Atsuko and Shane and others for passing,” he said, referring to another comedian, Shane Gillis.

“I took a principled stand,” Gillis said on his podcast, adding that he turned down a large amount of money. “You don’t 9/11 your friends.”