Some of the world’s best-known comedians – including American performers Dave Chappelle, Pete Davidson, Louis C.K., and Bill Burr – have been dubbed “sellouts” for taking part in a Saudi state-sponsored comedy festival in the wake of another journalist’s killing, and a reported rise in executions for non-lethal and drug-related crimes, along with long prison sentences imposed for social media posts.
The Riyadh Comedy Festival, hosted by Saudi Arabia’s government, is a new, lucrative gig for big-name comedians as the country expands its entertainment sector as part of “Saudi Vision 2030.” The initiative, brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also includes the highly-controversial LIV Golf tournament and investments in the tech, gaming, and venture capital sectors.
PETE DAVIDSON?? The guy whose origin story is literally that his dad died during the 9/11 terror attacks orchestrated by the Saudis? THAT Pete Davidson??
Maybe he’s going in undercover as a comedian to get revenge?
undercover as a comedian
Which one?
His
comedyskit is revenge. Sorry couldn’t write that, it would have been hate crime.
You mean to tell me that a guy who sells Axe body spray might not care where his money comes from, regardless of how it makes him look?
Damn seeing Bill Burr’s name on that list makes me sad. The others all make total sense. But Bill Burr damn.
Pete Davidson didn’t make sense either. Dad dies in the towers on 9/11 and he thinks this is cool?
Never forget, until the check clears that is.
Pete’s having a baby. Shit’s expensive
The man is worth $4M. He could live comfortably with kids. He’s just greedy lmao
Chapelle talking about how bad Hollywood is and not worth it…smh
Dave Chappelle has shown signs of being an asshole for a very long time
I really haven’t watched TV since he went AWOL then came back and talked about Hollywood. Sometimes I’m around someone who’s watching, but it’s not something I pay attention to.
I use him as an example where people think talking about injustices makes a person a particularly good person. I doubt he was ever all that good natured of an adult. He made his money and once he aged out of the social scene he rapidly started contributing to conservative social talking points in his comedy. And looking back I don’t think it’s that far from the Chapelle show.
There’s what he likes and there’s everyone/everything else he looks down on. He was never really an ideologue of anything. Just making fun of people in ways that got him the attention he enjoyed. Just a suck up for whatever social group he thought he could fit in with. Nowadays he’s fully embraced in sucking up to billionaires. Thats the social scene he aspires for now. More money means right to Chapelle. Also his dislike of trans people seems to be on his mind often. It’s all a joke though like so many other artists that hide behind just making a joke. I highlighted social conservatism for Chapelle. He’s an economic conservative too. Actions speak louder than words. Hannibal Burress was another comedian that ended up playing damage control and pretend his personal ideology isn’t money while public persona leftist
What I’ve learned the past 25 years this millennium, don’t trust stand up comic. Comics that write jokes for others but the Hollywood types are more often than not garbage
I had a feeling he exploits the 9/11 thing for sympathy.
Burr was the most shocking. Torched his brand and legacy with this move, hope the paycheck was worth it.
worst part of it is none of these guys were struggling. All of them could easily turn it down and they would be just fine.
Credit to those like Shane Gillis, Nimesh Patel and Stavvy for turning it down.
Glad Stavros has a backbone. I love all the cum boys.
Burr was surprising. Not in a “Oh my god he would never!” sort of way, but in a “huh. That shoe finally dropped. Was wondering when that was gonna happen” way.
No one expects better from Chappelle or C.K anymore. They’re already disgraced so they may as well sell out.
Segura was disappointing. Iglesias wasn’t surprising. Davidson was surprising given his background, but my expectations for him are already so low that it wasn’t a letdown.
You were surprised by Tom “fuck you poors” Segura? Dude hasn’t even been funny in years
Plot twist, Burr goes there and has a Philly era rant and incites a civil war.
Chappelle thinks because he acted on his principles one time in his life twenty years ago it grants him a pass to be a POS for the rest of his life.
i’m going to have to give Gillis another chance and try watching his standup.
Gillis had easily the best SNL skit this century, his stand-ups are decent, and lately he’s been coming out against the Rogan sphere of influence, to which I say kudos.
Which skit?
With all due respect to Coupla Beers, Flamin Hot Preparation H is the funniest SNL skit in recent memory, imho
Jesus Christ that one really took off, thank you for sharing.
LOOOL . “Museum” I needed that.
I’m curious; what made you not like Gillis in the first place? I don’t really know the state of American comedians, but thought Gillis was pretty funny from the IG clips I saw. Then got immediately turned off when I saw that he hangs (hung?) out with Rogan. Then, I see this article and feel more respect for him. I’m really torn here!
I think Shane likes to get his name out there and get some recognition. He does well with the manosphere, but they’re slowly turning on him, from what I’ve seen, because he’s literally making fun of them all the time. He totes a fine line between offensive and sincerity. I met him once after a show, he genuinely seems like a cool dude. He’s made some mistakes that he regrets, but also owns them all. I think because everything he does is soaked in irony, it’s hard to find the real Shane. E.g. my family are huge MAGAs, but they liked Shane at first. Now they think he’s sold out and woke lmao. Overall, I think he’s funny and worth watching. Really love that the Saudis doubled his offer and still said no.
That’s awesome that he refused the money. thank you for the info. “Manosphere” was exactly the word I was looking for to describe that group, I had forgotten about it. I’m glad he isn’t like neck deep in that crowd because that shit is poison imo.
I liked his comedy and if he isn’t spewing bullshit elsewhere, then I think I can keep enjoying him. Thank again!
The SNL he hosted I thought to be cringe. I also got an impression he had some sort of attachment to Heidi Gardner like an awkward teenager. Aside from that, his Netflix sitcom is hot garbage in my opinion.
I’ve lost all respect for the comedians performing in this festival, but gained a lot of respect for the ones who turned down the money out of principle.
Bill Burr is the biggest disappointment for me. Thought he was at least a little better than that.
Jim Jeffries is a surprise, and Jack Whitehall, but no big loss for me there.
Jeffries didn’t surprise me at all, guy always came across as adrift at best. He doesn’t have a good sense of right and wrong.
I remember one time he brought his toddler on stage to a rowdy podcast/comedy club scene. All the other comics had to chew him out before he finally left. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1LBf9sftjeNhYl4jUuGA2G The episode used to be on YouTube but this was the only source I could find right now.
Edit: 19:30-Ish is when Stanhope introduces him, here’s the clip for those who don’t wanna log in to spotify: https://streamable.com/rj0k4p
See, when you said toddler I didn’t think it would be so bad as long as you put some earmuffs in them to protect their hearing. But that’s a full on walking talking child, a bit more than a toddler 😄
I’m not a big fan of Gabriel Iglesias or anything, but that was also a surprise to me.
I think he’s been going over there for awhile. He did a short set about doing comedy in the middle east years ago. Not sure if it was Saudi Arabia but I think so.
Some of the world’s best-known comedians, and also Pete Davidson
And Bobby Lee
This shocked me about a lot of esports events. Sooo much saudi sponsorship and people going to LAN events there. Really disgusting.
Yeah I’ve ignored the ESWC because it’s just Saudi attempting to improve its image without actually changing their ways. And I am a huge SC2 fan so it hurts to ignore the biggest tournament of the year
Money talks.
Same with the World Rally Championship. They added a new desert rally hosted in SA. A desert rally does sound really cool, but I can’t support it. They’re adding it the same year they are doing a women only promotional competition as well.
The one that is disappointing to me out of the article is Bill Burr. I’ve listened to a lot of his stand up and his podcast off and on for years, frequently agreeing with the thrust of whatever point he was trying to make. I had hoped he was a better person than to put that reputation he seemed to care about on the line for a fat pay day.
I heard something recently that was along the lines of “who you really are, what you really value, and what you really stand for is defined by the things you are willing to give up to uphold those values and beliefs”.
I guess unfortunately Bill is like Chappelle has mostly been reveled to be in the last few years. Willing to agree to throw his supposed values in the trash if the payday is good enough. Just another mouthpiece for hire that I used to think was actually a pretty cool and principled dude back in the day.
Hell, I remember when Chappelle walked out on his show, while I missed that show I respected him for being willing to go that far for something he felt strongly about.
Unless Bill Burr takes a rather big shit on the royal family while he is out there, it’s a bit of a downer.
I doubt he will since there is a list of things you can’t talk about, including the royal family. And discarding that in a place like that is talking your own life in your hands.
I’ve been watching a lot of Shane Gillis content for a little under a year and I can officially say I’m even more confused on his political leanings and now know way too much about lady boys and their historical context thanks to him.
I remember a scene in the (good) show Louie when Louis CK criticized trump in a trump casino (he’s often the morally superior guy in his show)
Won’t happen there
If America didn’t make Saudi rich with all those oil purchases over the years we wouldnt be in this pickle.
Kudos to those that decided not to go but I think we all know that the American ethos is “everyone has a price”.
These are the most successful comedians. Like most rich entertainers, most are assholes behind the scenes when when their public persona matters and they want to fit in with younger crowds. Then when they’re past their prime years of relevance, they start kicking down further and further. George Carlin is a rarity. People making a career dunking on others are probably going to end up old shock jocks eventually
Let’s see the court jesters poke fun at their hosts and see what happens.
In the article it mentions that Tim Dillon was uninvited after some derogatory comments about the regime there. He should have saved that material until he was there
He might not have come home.
They would have needed a bigger suitcase at the very least.
I saw what you did there
I suspect at least one comedian will cross some line but I also suspect that showing which lines are okay to cross now is the Saudi government’s reason for doing this all in the first place.
Their government is in a super precarious position both economically and socially. Oil revenue is shrinking and the younger generation doesn’t identify so heavily with the wahabists. But the wahabists historically held nearly as much power as the house of Saud and heavily oppose all social change. The pace at which Saudi society has westernized is remarkable considering where they were just 10 years ago, even if brought about by an authoritarian ruler consolidating power from religious fundamentalists. This is yet another step in the direction of pushing the wahabists further aside for the sake of westernizing their economy.
I really don’t envy the position MBS is stuck in. He faces enormous pressure from the wahabists who criticize the limited social changes he has brought, he faces distrust from the house of Saud most of whom he essentially accused of mass corruption, and criticism from the West for Saudi’s poor human rights record. And amid all of this the country faces the economic crisis of the world moving away from oil. It’s no wonder the dude is focusing on stupid mega projects as that’s just about the only thing he can do without upsetting a huge number of people.
I sometimes wonder what it would be like if Saudi Arabia were a democracy. I suspect their politics would be far more divided and heated than any Western country.
Shane Gillis… The naive all American highschool boy? He’s like …the American Girl doll of comedy.
He’s anything but naive
