Overview

• Pressed by Jimmy Kimmel over Saudi Arabia’s record and Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, Ansari said he performed for local audiences and not the government.
• Ansari argued engagement can foster openness in a young society and described choosing to participate based on his Muslim background and family input.
• He said he discussed donating part of his payment to Reporters Without Borders and n RighRights Watch and called critics’ concerns valid.
• Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, say the state-backed festival functions as a soft-power bid to whitewash ongoing abuses.
• The festival, running Sept. 26–Oct. 9 in Riyadh, has drawn a major U.S. lineup, reports of large paydays, and claims of offer-letter content restrictions that some comics cited in declining.