Comedian Dave Chappelle joked that it’s “easier to talk” in Saudi Arabia than in the United States while headlining the Riyadh Comedy Festival.
While the comedian gave no specifics, the line was delivered in the context of conservative icon Charlie Kirk’s assassination. “Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, you’ll get canceled,” Chappelle said. “I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out.”
“It’s easier to talk here than it is in America,” he added.
While some hardcore leftists have been fired from their jobs for celebrating Kirk’s assassination, conservatives have also reported losing followers or friends simply for expressing sorrow over his brutal murder.
It remains unclear exactly what Chappelle meant in his reference to Charlie Kirk.
The comedian also expressed trepidation on returning to the United States because “they’re going to do something to me so that I can’t say what I want to say.”
The Riyadh Comedy Festival also featured performances by Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Russell Peters, Gabriel Iglesias, and Louis C.K. As Breitbart News reported this week, a backlash has been brewing against the comedians, accusing them of profiting from a totalitarian regime.
“I took a principled stand. You don’t 9/11 your friends,” comedian Shane Gillis said about rejecting the Saudis’ offer — alluding to the fact that 15 of the 9/11 terrorists were from the country.
Bill Burr, however, feels differently, asserting that the people of Saudi Arabia should not be equated with the government.
“It was great to experience that part of the world and to be a part of the first comedy festival over there in Saudi Arabia,” Burr said on his Monday Morning Podcast. “The royals loved the show. Everyone was happy. The people that were doing the festival were thrilled.”
“You think everybody’s going to be screaming ‘Death to America’ and they’re going to have like fucking machetes and want to chop my head off,” Burr added. “Because this is what I’ve been fed about that part of the world.”
The Mandalorian star concluded that the people of Saudi Arabia just wanted to laugh.
“People are cool. Governments are the problem,” Burr said. “Every time I travel, I learn the same thing. And the people I met there? They just wanted to laugh. And they fucking did.”
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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