Once upon a time, a raft of jesters traveled to a faraway kingdom. They were promised sacks of gold to perform their tricks and jokes for the king and his subjects, but there was just one problem: The king and his court were very mean. They went against everything the jesters believed in—or at least, what the jesters said they believed in. And the freedom that allowed the jesters to get so good at their jobs in the first place? It didn’t exist in the faraway kingdom.
This weekend marks the middle of the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, which features some of the biggest names in entertainment, from both the mainstream and podcast universe. On the program are performances from Louis C.K., Dave Chappelle, and Whitney Cummings, plus SNL’s Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, and Andrew Schulz.
Their participation has drawn the ire of both political pundits and fellow comedians, who accuse them of being “hypocrites.” Performers at the Riyadh Comedy Festival reportedly have to agree to restrictions like steering clear of anything “considered to degrade, defame, or bring into public disrepute” the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, its royal family, or its “legal system.” Essentially, the free expression that these American comedians depend on, and spend a lot of time defending, is massively limited in the place where they’re being paid handsomely to perform.
