On his late-night talk show Tuesday night, Jimmy Kimmel pressed Aziz Ansari for performing at the controversial, state-sponsored Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.
“This is something that’s become a big part of the news because people, a lot of comedians especially, are very upset, because the people who paid the comedians to come to this are not good people. It’s a pretty brutal regime. They’ve done a lot of horrible, horrible things,” Kimmel said of the Islamic regime led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“People are questioning why you would go over there and take their money to perform in front of these people,” Kimmel added. “I’m curious as to why you decided to do that.”
Ansari said the decision to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival was “something I put a lot of thought into,” and he sought out advice from his aunt who used to live in Saudi Arabia.
“There’s people over there that don’t agree with the stuff that the government’s doing, and to ascribe like the worst behavior of the government onto those people, that’s not fair,” Ansari said. “Just like there’s people in America that don’t agree with the things the government is doing.”
Kimmel agreed that “we’re doing horrible things over here” in the United States, but he pushed back on Ansari’s comparison. “They murdered a journalist. These are not good people over there,” Kimmel said, in reference to the 2018 state-sponsored murder of reporter Jamal Khashoggi.
Ansari defended himself by saying, “I was just there to do a show for the people.” He added: “Whenever there’s repressive societies like this, they try to keep things out — whether it’s rock and roll music or blue jeans — because it makes people curious about outside ideas, outside values. And this is a very young country, like half the country is under the age of 25, and things can really change. And to me, a comedy festival felt like something that’s pushing things to be more open and to push a dialogue.”
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He continued, “You kind of have to make a choice of whether you’re going to isolate or engage. For me, especially being me and looking the way I do and being from a Muslim background, it felt like something I should be a part of. And I hope it pushes things in a positive direction.”
Kimmel is far from the first comedian to publicly raise skepticism about the Riyadh event, which runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9 and also featured Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Louis C.K., Pete Davidson and many more American comedians on its lineup.
Marc Maron was one of the first comics to criticize the Riyadh Comedy Festival, quipping on his podcast: “I mean, the same guy that’s gonna pay them is the same guy that paid that guy to bone-saw Jamal Khashoggi and put him in a fucking suitcase.” Shane Gillis said he took a “principled stand” and turned down a “significant bag” to perform. (Sources told Variety that comedian paydays ranged from mid-six-figures up to $1.6 million for one show.)
Atsuko Okatsuka revealed on X that she declined an offer to perform at Riyadh Comedy Festival, writing: “The money is coming straight from the Crown Prince, who actively executes journalists, [people with non-lethal] drug offenses, bloggers, etc w/out due process.” She included screenshots of an offer letter including an alleged “content restrictions” section meant to prohibit comedians from joking about the Saudi government, legal system or religious customs.
David Cross penned a statement slamming his comedy colleagues who participated in the festival, writing: “How can any of us take any of you seriously ever again? All of your bitching about ‘cancel culture’ and ‘freedom of speech’ and all that shit? Done. You don’t get to talk about it ever again. By now we’ve all seen the contract you had to sign.”
Meanwhile, many high-profile comedians have defended their decision to play the festival. Burr called it “one of the top three experiences I’ve had,” saying “the royals loved the show.” C.K. said it was a “good opportunity” and “comedy is a great way to get in and start talking.” Chappelle quipped onstage in Saudi Arabia that “It’s easier to talk here than it is in America.”
Watch Kimmel and Ansari’s conversation below.
From Variety US