Overview
- Saudi Arabia’s state-backed festival ran Sept. 26–Oct. 9 in Riyadh with more than 50 comics, including Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Louis C.K., Pete Davidson and Aziz Ansari.
- On Jimmy Kimmel’s show, Aziz Ansari defended performing as engagement with audiences and said he planned to donate part of his fee to groups like Reporters Without Borders and Human Rights Watch.
- Human Rights Watch told outlets it cannot accept donations from festival participants and asked them instead to urge the release of detainees such as Waleed Abu al-Khair and Manahel al-Otaibi.
- The lineup drew sharp industry criticism from peers like Marc Maron and David Cross, while defenders including Burr, Louis C.K. and Chappelle praised the shows.
- Reports highlighted alleged contract content restrictions shared by Atsuko Okatsuka and unverified appearance fees ranging from mid–six figures to about $1.6 million per show.