Saudi Arabia is not a place anyone associates with humor, nor wrestling, movies, or golf for that matter. That’s the point. The Riyadh Comedy Festival is part of a massive, decade-long endeavor by the nation to promote itself as more than a repressive, barren oil producer, the ultimate image makeover. To do so, it dumped cash on any A-list comedian willing to vouch for them. As a consequence, we are witnessing a schism in the entertainment biz, and, thankfully, it has absolutely nothing to do with left and right politics. This is all about cold, hard cash. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is bankrolling the biggest comedy extravaganza ever. Not everyone is laughing. Any comedy fan hoping for a Bill Hicks-esque rant will be sorely disappointed.
Bill Burr, Pete Davidson, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Whitney Cummings, Louis CK, Hannibal Buress, and Aziz Ansari are all slated to stop by. However, should you think you’re getting the same material as in a New York, Toronto, or London club, we’ve got bad news. All headliners at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, staged in the capital of Saudi Arabia, must follow a strict set of guidelines, the show ordering jokes that steer clear of any remotely edgy material, like human rights, religion, terrorism, working conditions in the Middle Eastern country, and any other criticism of the king’s regime. Fellow comedians lashed out, all while George Carlin twirled in his grave.
When Egdelords Learn to Bite Their Tongue
At the heart of the media firestorm was the poorly kept secret that said comedians were voluntarily kneecapping their acts for an enormous payday. All participants are contractually obligated to keep their mouths shut about Saudi politics and life, which kind of stands in stark opposition to mainstream hour-long specials which dissect and overanalyze every single aspect of society and identity, especially politics. We have the scoop thanks to comedian Atsuko Okatsuka, who leaked the rigid guidelines on her X (Twitter) account last week.
Among the stipulations are a prohibition on denigrating the royal family and their society. Comedians instructed that they “shall not prepare or perform any material that may be considered to degrade, defame, or bring into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, embarrassment, or ridicule” upon the nation or any faith. In one fell swoop, the comedy world just gleefully time traveled back sixty years to the dark days of the Lenny Bruce-era. Bruce, for those unaware, was famously banned from England for his sexual and religious material, arguably the most important figure in comedy in modern history.
Saudi Arabia Discovers the “Streisand Effect”
This well-meaning PR exercise backfired before it even got under way. Jim Jeffries, originally listed on the bill, was mysteriously scrubbed with no comment offered from him or his publicist, according to The Guardian. He attempted to alleviate the bad press by excusing the self-imposed muzzle because he didn’t care about human rights abuses anyway, only exacerbating the negative image the Saudi bookers were eager to downplay. He never had much credibility to begin with, but Bill Burr has more to lose. He shrugged off the criticism, stating that all people deserve the right to see world-class comedy. Burr’s touring calendar will survive this episode, but his reputation as a fearless social commentator who spoke truth to power is officially over based on the vitriol he’s evoked since he flew back to America, his own podcast fans ridiculing him in the comments.
Instead of putting the Saudi Arabian elites in a positive light, it has instead focused the world’s attention on the inadequacies of the petrostate and the family that rules with an iron fist. The show might have gone off without a hitch, but there’s a noticeable radioactive cloud hanging over the comedy show. Once again, people are discussing the assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, murdered on the orders of the Saudi government. On their lips is the Saudi-induced famine of Yemen, the crackdown on free speech, laughably out-of-date censorship, and the wretched state of women’s rights. All those stories amplified because of a PG-rated comedy show. This can’t be the reaction they had in mind.
Clash of the Podcast All-Stars
On his podcast, Bill Burr explained that the rules were part of a compromise between the organizers and Saudi officials, completely dismissing the outrage as overblown. The most prominent figure in the comedy community to denounce the festival is Mr. Show actor David Cross, who blasted the comedians as hypocrites for taking the checks. Podcaster and comedian Marc Maron went further in a live stage appearance, remarking in a clip posted to Instagram: “The same guy that’s gonna pay them is the same guy that paid that guy to bonesaw Jamal Khashoggi and put him in a fu**ing suitcase. But don’t let that stop the yucks!” Adding that he wasn’t offered a free trip to the kingdom, so it’s “easy to maintain your integrity when no one’s offering to buy it out.” Regardless of Burr’s skill with hecklers, there is absolutely no comeback for that putdown.
The payouts haven’t been confirmed, but Tim Dillion (before he got fired for “looking the other way” concerning Saudi Arabia’s “slaves”) stated on The Tim Dillion Show that some acts earned well over a million bucks. A fact not lost on fellow comedians. Shane Gillis admitted on his podcast that the organizers had repeatedly lured him to make the flight. He declined, citing how awkward the show would be, forced to dance around the elephant in the room, referring to the fact that members of the Saudi Arabian government had been linked to the September 11th terrorist attack. All the more baffling as Pete Davidson lost his father in 9-11, and still agreed. As Gillis explained, avoiding the one forbidden topic on everyone’s mind would be tantamount to comedic malpractice, and was not worth it no matter how many zeros the House of Saud added to the payout. Looks like the Bud Light guy is the moral exemplar for the whole profession. Now that’s funny.