“It’s easier to talk here than it is in America,” Dave Chappelle told an audience in Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Chappelle was in the kingdom as part of the Riyadh Comedy Festival. His decision — and that of other comics — has become controversial, given Saudi role in 9/11 and the 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as well as other human rights abuses and anti LGBTQ+ policies.
“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!’” an astounded Marc Maron said in a video from a recent stand-up bit. “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!”
Others have objected on free speech grounds, especially after comedian Atsuko Okatsuka revealed what she said were strict contract terms that would have had her “adhere to censorship rules” about the kinds of jokes she could make. Those criticisms were set in even higher relief during the recent standoff between Jimmy Kimmel and ABC.
Chappelle’s quip onstage at the festival was likely a rejoinder to such complaints.
“Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you’ll get canceled,” the comedian said, according to the New York Times. “I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out.”
Since Deadline exclusively revealed the initial lineup in July, the Riyadh Comedy Festival has announced Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Hannibal Buress, Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Zarna Garg, Gabriel Iglesias, Jim Jefferies, Jo Koy, Bobby Lee, Jeff Ross, Andrew Santino, Tom Segura, Chris Tucker and more as participants. It runs through October 10.