Less happily, yesterday was also the anniversary of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, on the orders of Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman who, you know, literally got away with murder because of governmental chickenshitness… which is part of why there’s been quite some stink about the Riyadh Comedy Festival, the latest Saudi attempt to cosy up to the West by, you know, kind of buying the co-operation of a bunch of American comedians like Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Jimeoin, Jim Jeffries, Aziz Ansari, Jimmy Carr and Louis C.K., with the latter being a particularly obnoxious double bill… there’s been a lot of disappointment at the people going, especially towards Pete Davidson, whose father died after the September 11 attach which you may recall Saudi had something to do with, and even more towards Bill Burr… the latter’s become highly regarded among leftist critics in recent months; a comment he made earlier this year about billionaires being “put down” obviously went over well, and he’s specifically targeted other people in the past for doing the exact sort of thing he’s doing now. I presume billionaires are better if they’re paying Bill…
To be honest, comedy is not something I pay much attention to, so until recently I’ve only been dimly aware of some of the bigger names, then Marc Maron did a big attack on the Rogansphere, i.e. the mob of comics beholden to noted giant intellect and right-wing stooge Joe Rogan that mostly hangs around the Austin scene where Rogan holds sway. So that introduced me to a few more who’ve also been invited to partake of the Riyadh festival, so I’ve got more reasons to not like them other than just what I’ve now seen of their work. But I’ve always known some of the bigger ones, like I said; Dave Chappelle, for example, that noted admirer of queer and trans people, is someone I actually used to admire back in the day. Less so now, though:
Dave Chappelle criticized the status of free speech in the United States while on stage at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.
The comedian was one of more than 50 performers participating in the event, which has come under fire for being held in a country which has been accused of human rights violations and an oppressive regime.
“Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you’ll get canceled,” Chappelle told an audience of 6,000, according to The New York Times. “I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out.” He then added, “It’s easier to talk here than it is in America.” […]
Given Chappelle is, obviously, a comedian, anything he says on stage can arguably fall under the rubric of, “well, he was just kidding.” But his comments are, at the very least, rather ironic. In Saudi Arabia, media outlets are licensed by the government and there is a long list of prohibited speech — from anything that inflames public opinion against the state, to promoting any non-Islamic religious expression or speech that supports activist causes. (For instance: In 2022, student Salma al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in prison for retweeting women’s rights activists on X; she was later given a reduced sentence amid global outcry).
Even the comedy festival had purported speech restrictions, with comedian Atsuko Okatsuka posting a list of deal terms for appearing at the event which included forbidding any criticism of religion or the Saudi royals.
One comedian, Tim Dillon, says he was disinvited to attend the event for an unearthed joke that he previously made about Saudi Arabia — which arguably sends the message that if you wish to be invited to the Riyadh Comedy Festival in the future, you better not make jokes about the country even when you’re back home.
So the “freedom of speech” thing is transparent bullshit and Dave knows it. He got bought by the Saudi government just like the rest of them did. And Mohammed bin Salman will keep carrying on as usual because no one will do anything about him, and Jamal Khashoggi will continue to turn in his grave for nothing.
