Chicago – October 3, 2025
A comedy festival in Saudi Arabia featuring high-profile American performers is drawing intense criticism from human rights advocates who say the star-studded event helps gloss over the kingdom’s ongoing human rights abuses.
The Riyadh Comedy Festival, which kicked off on September 26, has styled itself as “the world’s largest comedy festival,” with sets from more than 50 star comedians, including Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr and Pete Davidson. Running through October 9, the festival was organized by the Saudi Tourism Authority as part of the kingdom’s push to attract more visitors.
The festival also falls during the seventh anniversary of the assassination of Washington Post columnist and Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi, which a US intelligence report says happened at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
That timing hasn’t been lost on the festival’s critics, who say the high-profile American comics are lending legitimacy to a government that represses dissent, jails activists and restricts free speech.
Marc Maron ridiculed the festival performers and the crown prince in a recent stand-up routine, noting that “the same guy that’s gonna pay them is the same guy that paid that guy to bonesaw Jamal Khashoggi … but don’t let that stop the yuks!”
I’m“I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing,” comedian David Cross wrote last week on his website. “You’re performing for literally the most oppressive regime on earth.” Shane Gillis, a fellow irreverent comedian, said he “took a principled stand” against accepting a “significant” offer to perform.
