Whitney Cummings is the latest comedian to defend performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, which sparked widespread backlash in the comedy industry for its ties to the Saudi Arabia government. Speaking on her “Good for You” podcast, Cummings labeled the backlash against the comedians who attended the event as “racism” and made a larger claim that most comedians are already accepting money from Saudi Arabia simply by working with Live Nation for their stand-up tours.
“I guess I’m this weirdo,” Cummings said. “I don’t operate under, you know, the idea that every government and their people are the same… You think that the people of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi government all [share the same values]? So you also believe that the Chinese government and the Chinese people are exactly the same? It’s just racism. I think it took me a second, because when people are going like, ‘You’re doing something unethical,’ I’m like, ‘Oh, these must be ethical people, let me listen.’ And then you’re like, ‘Oh no, you’re just racist.’ These are also the same people who would go, ‘Trump is not my president! I am nothing like our president.’ But other countries are?”
“When you get a second, google ‘Saudi Arabia Live Nation’ so you can be informed on the fact that anyone who has worked with Live Nation, every stand-up comic, has taken Saudi money,” she later claimed. “Google that! Just so you know what you’re talking about… or bought a ticket through Live Nation, went to a Live Nation event, all the actors who are represented by William Morris Agency, which is all of them. If you want to send them notes, too.”
Cummings is referring to The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign-wealth fund, which purchased a large stake in Live Nation Entertainment in 2020. Public Investment disclosed at the time that it owned a 5.7% stake in Live Nation, or a total of 12.3 million shares valued at approximately $500 million. Last November, the Fund sold its stake in Live Nation.
Variety has reached out to Live Nation for comment.
Cummings was one of many high-profile comedians who traveled to Saudi Arabia for the comedy festival, which took place Sept. 26 to Oct. 9. Bill Burr, Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Andrew Schulz and more also performed. The talent at the festival was widely criticized on social media by the likes of Marc Maron, David Cross, Zach Woods and other comedians. Cross specifically called out Bill Burr in his response condemning the festival, adding: “I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing.”
Burr defended attending the event in several interviews this month, recently saying on the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast: “I don’t give a fuck what all these phony fucking people are saying… “It was necessary. It felt right afterward. I vibed with [the audience in Saudi Arabia] and they were funny. Fuck, they were funny fucking people. I don’t know what to tell you. I had a good time.”
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Aziz Ansari said earlier this month that he planned to donate “part of the fee” he made from performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival to “causes that support free press and human rights,” listing Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch, two groups that were critical of the comedy festival and the Saudi regime. A spokesperson for Human Rights Watch later told Variety the organization “cannot accept” donations from Ansari and other comedians.
Louis C.K. appeared on “Real Time With Bill Maher” after performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival and said that attending the event felt like “a good opportunity,” adding: “I just feel like comedy is a great way to get in and start talking.”
Watch Cummings’ latest episode of the “Good For You” podcast in the video below.
From Variety US