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By Marni Rose McFall
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The Riyadh Comedy Festival began on Friday and includes many of the world’s most famous comedians on its bill.
But the comedy festival in Saudi Arabia’s capital has become something of a cultural flashpoint, with the comedians taking part facing increasing scrutiny over their performances.
Newsweek has contacted a media representative for the Saudi Arabian government via email for comment.
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Why It Matters
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has made major investments in sports and entertainment. The Riyadh Comedy Festival was announced in July by Turki Al-Sheikh, who is the chairman of the General Entertainment Authority.
The festival comes as part of the country’s ‘Vision 2030’ strategy, which is aiming to position the country as a destination for culture and diversify the country’s economy. The plan was outlined almost a decade ago by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia is an ally of the United States.
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The event has prompted backlash in response to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Multiple organizations have urged performers to speak out against the country’s record of human rights abuses, and Human Rights Watch released a statement this week, which read: “The Saudi government is using the Riyadh Comedy Festival 2025 from September 26 to October 9 to deflect attention from its brutal repression of free speech and other pervasive human rights violations.”
Who is Performing at the Saudi Arabia Comedy Festival?
Performers who are scheduled to appear at the festival include:
Mo Amer
Aziz Ansari
Wayne Brady
Hannibal Buress
Bill Burr
Jimmy Carr
Dave Chappelle
Louis C.K.
Whitney Cummings
Pete Davidson
Chris Distefano
Omid Djalili
Zarna Garg
Ben Hart
Kevin Hart
Gabriel Iglesias
Jim Jefferies
Jimeoin
Maz Jobrani
Jessica Kirson
Jo Koy
Bobby Lee
Sebastian Maniscalco
Sam Morril
Mark Normand
Russell Peters
Jeff Ross
Sugar Sammy
Andrew Santino
Andrew Schulz
Tom Segura
Ali Siddiq
Aries Spears
Chris Tucker
Jack Whitehall
Which Comedians Have Refused?
The comedian Shane Gillis said on his podcast, Secret Podcast, that he had turned down an invitation and a significant appearance fee.
Atsuko Okatsuka posted screenshots of what she said was her invite to the festival on the social media platform Threads. Mike Birbiglia and Leslie Liao responded to this and said that they too had rejected the offer.
Stavros Halkias said in a podcast episode that he had also refused to perform.
Nimesh Patel was also slated to participate in the festival, but announced on social media that he would be dropping out on ethical grounds.
Comedians Marc Maron and David Cross have both come out and publicly criticized the comedians participating in the festival.
Tim Dillon was originally slated to perform but was removed from the list of performers because of jokes that he made on his podcast about slavery in Saudi Arabia.
How Much Are Comedians Being Paid?
Official figures for how much comedians are being paid for the Riyadh Comedy Festival have not been released to the public.
In a podcast appearance released on August 30, Dillon said that he was being paid $375,000 and that other performers had been offered as much as $1.6 million.
What’s Next
The comedy festival began on the 26 September and will run until 9 October.
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