Despite Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations, Bill Burr and Jimmy Carr are just two of the many comedians who have faced backlash from their respective colleagues and the general public.
Pete Davidson, Kevin Hart and Jimmy Carr are among the many big-name comedians under fire for agreeing to participate in the Riyadh Comedy festival. Their decision to perform is being criticised by fellow comics and the general public given the Saudi government’s human rights abuses.
The inaugural Riyadh Comedy festival is running from September 26 to October 9, with a lineup that features Dave Chappelle, Louis CK, Bill Burr, Andrew Schulz, Whitney Cummings and Aziz Ansari among about 50 others. The comedians will all take their fees directly from the Saudi government.
The festival has been perceived by organisations like Human Rights Watch as an effort by the Saudi regime to “whitewash” its abuses – not for the first time. In a news release, the organisation wrote: “This whitewashing comes amid significant increase in repression, including a crackdown on free speech, which many of these comedians defend but people in Saudi Arabia are completely denied.”
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Those who have signed on to the festival have received public criticism from prominent fellow comedians including WTF podcast host Marc Maron and Arrested Development star David Cross.
In a video posted on Maron’s Instagram channel, the comedian took aim at his industry colleagues while citing the Saudi government’s role in the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “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. But don’t let that stop the yucks, it’s gonna be a good time!”
On Tuesday, September 30, David Cross shared an open letter accusing the festival’s headlining comedians of greed. “I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing,” wrote Cross on his website. “That people I admire, with unarguable talent, would condone this totalitarian fiefdom for … what, a fourth house? A boat? More sneakers?”
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While some headliners claimed they had not received any content guidelines from the festival’s organizers, comedian Atsuko Okatsuka who turned down the festival’s offer, posted the proposed contract online, which forbade material that “may be considered to degrade, defame or bring into public disrepute” to The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s leadership, public figures, the Saudi royal family, or even the legal system.
After appearing at the festival on Friday’s opening night, Bill Burr claimed the festival had relaxed the limitations on what comedians could say. They “just negotiated it down to just a few things,” according to the statement, “Don’t make fun of royals]and] religion.”
As reported by The Guardian, the event’s producers include Sela (a live events company owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund) and the kingdom’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA). The GEA is chaired by Turki al-Sheikh, a royal adviser accused of human rights violations.
Source: Mirror
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