Entertainment comedy Saudi Arabia

A bunch of comedians are performing at a Saudi comedy festival – 15 heckles worth the price of admission

Michael White. Updated September 27th, 2025

Look, everyone has to make a living, including comedy performers.

But sometimes, you have to wonder if some gigs are worth it.

A bunch of well-known comedians are coming under fire for agreeing to take part in the Riyadh Comedy Festival, taking place in Saudi Arabia between now and October 9.

Among the names taking part are Bill Burr, Pete Davidson, Kevin Hart, Jimmy Carr, Dave Chappelle, Omid Djalili, Aziz Ansari, Louis CK and Chris Tucker. Reports suggest the comics are being paid anything between $375,000 to $1.6million to take part.

The controversy stems from the fact that Saudi Arabia is notorious for its human rights abuses – and, indeed, this festival falls on the anniversary of the brutal murder and dismemberment of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

1. Podcaster Marc Maron has been particularly withering in his response.

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Perhaps the biggest surprise is the presence of Pete Davidson, whose firefighter father was killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. 15 of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

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Here’s a taster of the other reactions to the festival.

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