Overview

• The Saudi government–supported festival in Riyadh runs Sept. 26–Oct. 9 with a marquee lineup including Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Bill Burr, Aziz Ansari, Jimmy Carr and Louis C.K.
• Screenshots of offer terms shared by comedians show content restrictions barring material that could defame Saudi Arabia, its royal family, legal system, government or religion.
• Human Rights Watch says the event helps deflect from repression of free speech and urges participants to publicly press for the release of detained activists and journalists.
• Some performers have changed course: Nimesh Patel says he withdrew after initially accepting, and Tim Dillon says organizers dropped him following critical remarks about the country.
• Industry criticism escalated as David Cross, Marc Maron and Shane Gillis condemned participation, while Bill Burr defended performing and described positive audiences in Riyadh.