Billed as “the biggest comedy festival in the world”, the inaugural Riyadh Comedy festival, which is running 26 September to 9 October, features some of the biggest names in US comedy. The lineup features Dave Chappelle, Louis CK, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Aziz Ansari and Jo Koy, among many others who are all taking their fees …
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The Riyadh Comedy Festival in the capital of Saudi Arabia began on Friday, with top comedians including Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, Aziz Ansari, Louis C.K., Pete Davidson, Jo Koy, and Jimmy Carr on the robust roster of performers. However, the comics have received backlash from their peers for reportedly accepting hefty paychecks in exchange for taking part in an …
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Comedian David Cross released a fiery statement on his website Monday condemning the comedians who agreed to perform at Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival. “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?” He continued, “We …
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David Cross ripped into many of his former comedy heroes for their participation in Saudi Arabia’s controversial Riyadh Comedy Festival. The comedian posted his thoughts on his website and in an X post, saying he was “disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing.” Cross wondered how people he admired in the comedy space would “condone this totalitarian fiefdom …
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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan got Christian McCaffrey involved early and often on the first drive with six touches. The ground game looked good early. Brock Purdy began the drive with an 18-yard pass to Kyle Juszczyk. However, a 13-play drive stalled in the red zone, and the Niners had to settle for a field goal. Eddy Pinero’s …
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Marc Maron, who wasn’t invited to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, has spoken out against participation in the event, owing to Saudi Arabia’s appalling human rights record. Amy Sussman/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption toggle caption Amy Sussman/Getty Images/Getty Images North America Saudi Arabia is not known as a center for comedy. But through Oct. 9, the country’s …
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Atsuko Okatsuka is revealing a few of the details in the offer she was presented with to appear at Saudi Arabia’s ongoing Riyadh Comedy Festival. The comedian took to Threads where she shared a screenshot of an alleged offer she received to perform at the festival. In the post, Okatsuka noted that accepting the potential booking came with “censorship rules” …
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With Saudi Arabia’s star-studded debut comedy festival kicking off this weekend, comedian Atsuko Okatsuka has revealed some of the event’s strict terms. Noting she turned down a gig at the Riyadh Comedy Festival over the summer, Okatsuka said the terms of her offer would have had her “adhere to censorship rules” about the kinds of joke she could make, revealing …
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Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival sparked outrage this week, with several U.S. comedians criticizing the high-profile event and Human Rights Watch condemning the festival while urging performers like Pete Davidson and Bill Burr to “publicly urge Saudi authorities to free unjustly detained Saudi dissidents, journalists and human rights activists.” “The seventh anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi’s brutal murder is no laughing …
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A-list comedians are taking heat from their industry peers for their upcoming participation in the contentious Riyadh Comedy Festival, kicking off Friday in Saudi Arabia, which has been under scrutiny for years over human rights abuses. Dave Chappelle, Aziz Ansari and Pete Davidson are among the comedians on the star lineup. Their representatives did not reply to The Times’ requests …
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