The Riyadh Comedy Festival will take place over the next two weeks and features some big names of the comedy world, such as Dave Chapelle, Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, and Jimmy Carr. This has of course raised questions about the moral implications of performing in Saudi Arabia given their record on human rights and free speech.
The most notable case of Saudi Arabia silencing one of their critics was the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, who was lured to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, before being killed and his body dismembered. The CIA concluded that the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the assassination. Australian comedian Jim Jeffries, set to perform at the festival, said:
“You don’t think our government’s f***ing bump people?… Yeah, yeah. One reporter was killed by the government. Unfortunate, but not a fucking hill that I’m gonna die on. But what better than—basically we are freedom-of-speech machines being sent over there. They have not at one stage asked to see our material. They haven’t asked.”
Many of the comedians on the bill are known for their offensive jokes and willingness to push the boundaries of comedy, however Atsuko Okatsuka claimed she turned down an offer which included strict censorship rules:
“ARTIST shall not prepare or perform any material that may be considered to degrade, defame, or bring into public disrepute, contempt, scandal, embarrassment, or ridicule:
- A) The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including its leadership, public figures, culture, or people;
- B) The Saudi royal family, legal system, or government, and;
- C) Any religion, religious tradition, religious figure, or religious practice.”
Tim Dillon gave an honest assessment of why he took the gig:
“The House of Saud is paying us hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of us millions… Get over it. We’re taking the money.
“Get over it. So what? So what they have slaves? So what? They’re paying me $375,000. For one show. They’re paying me enough money to look the other way.”
He then went on a bizarre rant about how slavery is not all bad. Dillon has since announced that he has been dropped from the festival after those remarks. He seemed shocked at this outcome: “I was defending them for having slaves! …but they didn’t like that.”
Entertainment-washing festival
The festival was first announced in July by Turki Al-Sheikh, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. Before his death, Jamal Khashoggi said:
“The crown prince does not have political advisers except Turki Al Sheikh and Saud Al Qahtani… They are very thuggish. People fear them. You challenge them, you might end up in prison.”
Khashoggi had condemned Saudi Arabia’s arrest of Loujain al-Hathloul, who was instrumental in the campaign to lift a ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia but was then taken by Saudi authorities, forcibly disappeared and brutally tortured – this includes electrocution, waterboarding, and flogging. She was released from prison in Saudi Arabia in February 2021, having been jailed for 1,001 days, but continues to live under restrictions that prevent her from leaving the country.
Loujain’s sister, Lina, now a human rights activist, has described Saudi Arabia under Mohammed bin Salman as a:
“… police state, with no civic freedoms.”
“Those defending basic human rights are not only facing extremely lengthy sentences, such as Salma al-Shehab but are subjected to torture and inhumane treatment.”
Comedians paid to perform PR for the Saudi government
As Richard Osman pointed out on ‘The Rest Is Entertainment’ podcast, the festival doesn’t appear to be all that lucrative financially for the Saudis, given the alleged fees being paid to attract all these comedians. “You have to accept that you are not being paid for punters coming through the door… so you are being paid by the Saudi government… you’re being paid to promote Saudi Arabia… you’re there to do PR for the Saudi government.”
Joey Shea of Human Rights watch said: “This whitewashing comes amid significant increase in repression, including a crackdown on free speech, which many of these comedians defend but people in Saudi Arabia are completely denied.”
The anniversary of Khashoggi’s murder is this week, 2 October. If these comedians are really bastions of free speech or if there is any notion that this event is part of genuine reform in Saudi Arabia, then why not go there and talk about Jamal Khashoggi, talk about Loujain al-Hathloul, poke fun at Turki Al Sheikh, the Crown Prince and the Saudi regime, the way you would poke fun at Donald Trump, Keir Starmer or King Charles. Do we really believe any of them will?
