<\/p>\n
Comedian Bill Burr<\/strong> was roasted online for the way he defended his decision to perform at a Saudi Arabian comedy festival organized by the government.<\/p>\n Last Friday was the first day of the Riyadh Comedy Festival. Since the announcement of the festival, Burr \u2014 as well as a number of other big-name comedians \u2014 have been harshly criticized for taking Saudi money and accepting offers to perform. Critics have pointed to the Saudis\u2019 curious investments in sports and entertainment, claiming these investments are nothing more than an effort to take attention away from the country\u2019s human rights abuses.<\/p>\n Participating comedians also faced backlash from their peers<\/a>. Those who declined have confirmed the Saudis offered them large sums of money. In return, however, their comedy sets were to exclude certain topics \u2014 including religion and jokes about the Saudi royal family.<\/p>\n Burr, who hasn\u2019t shied away from talking about social issues on stage or on his podcast, was perhaps one of the more surprising names on the lineup. In a recent episode of Monday Morning Podcast<\/em><\/a>, he called the experience \u201cgreat\u201d and added that \u201cthe royals loved the show.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou think everybody\u2019s going to be screaming, \u2018Death to America\u2019 and they\u2019re going to have, like, fucking machetes and want to chop my head off,\u201d he said, \u201cBecause this is what I\u2019ve been fed about that part of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n Burr then revealed the organizers eased up on the restrictions, leaving most of his normal routine intact.<\/p>\n That did not go over well on social media.<\/p>\n https:\/twitter.com\/peterjhasson\/status\/1973730318986387774<\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n The post Bill Burr Torched for Defending Saudi Comedy Festival by Saying \u2018The Royals Loved the Show\u2019<\/a> first appeared on Mediaite<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n