A backlash has been brewing against comedians joining the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, accusing them of profiting from a totalitarian regime.
The Riyadh Comedy Festival will feature the comedy talents of Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Russell Peters, Gabriel Iglesias, Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K., and the comedy community has been split on the ethics of it.
Speaking on his WTF podcast, comedian Marc Maron referenced that 15 of the 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia and the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.
“I mean, how do you even promote that? ‘From the folks that brought you 9/11. Two weeks of laughter in the desert, don’t miss it!’” Maron said. “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 fucking suitcase. But don’t let that stop the yucks, it’s gonna be a good time!”
U.S. standup comedian Tim Dillon admitted that he originally accepted the Saudi offer due to the large sums of money they offer but later noted that they fired him over past remarks about human rights issues.
“I addressed it in a funny way and they fired me,” he said.
U.S. comedian Shane Gillis admitted that he turned down the Saudi offer on his podcast despite it being a “significant bag.”
“I took a principled stand. You don’t 9/11 your friends,” Gillis said.
Likewise, comedian David Cross (Arrested Development) also said he was “disgusted.”
“I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing,” Cross wrote. “That people I admire, with unarguable talent, would condone this totalitarian fiefdom for…what, a fourth house? A boat? More sneakers?”
“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),” said Cross.
Cross further argued that those comedians will lose their credibility by taking the job.
“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?” Cross added. “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.”
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.
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