Bill Burr hits back at criticism of Riyadh Comedy Festival appearance: “Straight up lies”
Comedian Bill Burr has responded to criticism he has faced for appearing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.
The ongoing festival, which began on September 26th and concludes on October 9th, has seen the biggest names in comedy, including Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Carr, Jack Whitehall, Aziz Ansari, Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Jo Koy, Russell Peters, Omid Djalili, and more head to Riyadh.
Burr attracted controversy following his appearance by speaking about his experience in Saudi Arabia last week on his Monday Morning Podcast. In that episode, he said of performing in Riyadh, “It was a mind-blowing experience. Definitely top three experiences I’ve had. I think it’s going to lead to a lot of positive things.”
He also addressed the freedom-of-speech issue, stating that there was initially a whole list of subjects that were off the table before it was “just negotiated it all the way down to just a couple things, which were, basically: Don’t make fun of royals (and) religion.”
This led to a wave of criticism, including from fellow comedian David Cross, who wrote in a blog post, “I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing. You’re performing for literally the most oppressive regime on earth.”
Now, Burr has again addressed the subject in the latest episode of his podcast, sharing with his listeners of the controversy, “I do have to tell you, this is fascinating, because I’ve never been in the middle of one of these fucking things.”
Burr continued, “To finally be in the middle of it, and the level of like, straight up lies, is just, it’s wild.” He then highlighted examples, adding, “These stories of like, ‘There was no women there’, ‘He just performed to the royals’. By the time they’re done with this shit, they’re gonna say, I went over there and did a one-on-one show in a fucking tent staring at my toes, and then I left for the head fucking guy, whoever the hell it is over there.”
Riyadh Comedy Festival has been condemned by the Human Rights Watch, which said, “Comedians performing in Riyadh should speak out against Saudi Arabia’s serious rights abuses or they risk bolstering the Saudi government’s well-funded efforts to launder its image. This whitewashing comes amid significant increase in repression, including a crackdown on free speech, which many of these comedians defend but people in Saudi Arabia are completely denied.”
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