On his late-night talk show Tuesday night, Jimmy Kimmel pressed Aziz Ansari to perform at the controversial state-sponsored Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s something that’s in the news because people, a lot of comedians in particular, 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 wonder why you would go out there and take their money to play in front of these people,” Kimmel added. “I’m curious why you decided to do this.”
Ansari said the decision to perform at the Riyadh Comedy Festival was “something I thought about a lot” and he sought advice from his aunt who lived in Saudi Arabia.
“There are people out there who don’t agree with what the government is doing, and to blame the worst behavior of the government on those people is not fair,” Ansari said. “Just like there are people in America who disagree with the things the government does.”
Kimmel acknowledged that “we do horrible things here” in the United States, but he rejected Ansari’s comparison. “They murdered a journalist. They’re not good people there,” Kimmel said, referring to the 2018 state-sponsored killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Ansari defended himself by saying: “I was just there to put on a show for the people.” He added: “Whenever there are repressive societies like this, they try to keep things apart – whether it’s rock and roll music or blue jeans – because it makes people curious about outside ideas, outside values. And it’s a very young country, half the country is under 25, and things can really change. And for me, a comedy festival was like something that pushes things to be more open and encourage dialogue.”
He continued, “You kind of have to choose whether you’re going to isolate yourself or engage. For me, especially being myself, with my appearance 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 express skepticism about the Riyadh event, which runs from September 26 to October 9 and also featured Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Louis CK, Pete Davidson and many other American comedians.
Marc Maron was one of the first comedians to criticize the Riyadh Comedy Festival, joking on his podcast: “I mean, the same guy who’s going to pay them is the same guy who paid this guy to saw off Jamal Khashoggi and put him in a fucking suitcase.” » Shane Gillis said he took a “principled stance” and turned down a “significant bag” to perform. (Sources said Variety Actor salaries ranged from six figures to $1.6 million for one show.)
Atsuko Okatsuka revealed on » She included screenshots of an offer letter that included a purported “content restrictions” section intended to prohibit comedians from joking about the Saudi government, legal system or religious customs.
David Cross wrote a statement criticizing his fellow comedians who participated in the festival, writing, “How can any of us take any of you seriously anymore? All your bitching about cancel culture and free speech and all that bullshit? It’s over. You can never talk about it again. By now we’ve all seen the contract you had to sign.”
Meanwhile, many high-profile comedians have defended their decision to participate in the festival. Burr called it “one of the three best experiences I’ve had”, saying that “the royal family loved the show”. CK said it was a “good opportunity” and that “comedy is a great way to get in and start talking.” Chappelle joked on stage in Saudi Arabia: “It’s easier to talk here than in America.”
Watch Kimmel and Ansari’s conversation below.
