Dave Chappelle was a bit hesitant to join the Riyadh Comedy Festival last year until he realized how much business Hollywood was already doing with Saudi Arabia.
While talking with NPR, Chappelle was asked about his gig performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival and the backlash he and other comedians received. Although he admitted to some initial hesitancy to adding his name to the lineup, that changed when he saw all the other ways the industry and the US government were working with Saudi Arabia and thought why not cash a check of his own.
“Since that time, the United States government does business with the Saudis, Netflix does business with the Saudis. Everyone — the Saudis financed tons of movies — I know I seen them financing boxing matches and all these things,” he said. “And none of these things were an issue until I went there.”
He added: “Now why is that? As soon as a Black man can make money off the plantation, they try to tell you the money is dirty. Well okay, I’ll go home and spent the money with actual slave owners on it. Where is this clean money you’re talking about?”
NPR’s Michel Martin pushed Chappelle on accepting money for the festival performance. The stand-up was candid that nearly everything we do or use day to day is tied to something bad.
“If you wanna be that pure about money, then stop driving your car, stop eating, don’t use your cellphone,” he said. “Everything is tethered to something that’s just terrible.”
Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Comedy Festival began on Sept. 26. 2025 and lasted until Oct. 9. It boasted a lineup of high-profile American and British comedians, including Chappelle, Bill Burr, Pete Davidson, Aziz Ansari, Hannibal Buress, Jimmy Carr, Sam Morril and Tom Segura. The performers ended up getting a heavy dose of backlash from fellow comedians. David Cross was one of the most vocal but people like Shane Gillis also revealed he’d been offered a spot in the lineup but turned it down.
“We can never again take seriously anything these comedians complain about (unless it’s complaining that we don’t support enough torture and mass executions of journalists and LGBQT peace activists here in the states, or that we don’t terrorize enough Americans by flying planes into our buildings),” Cross wrote online. “I mean that’s it; you have a funny bit about how you don’t like Yankee Candles or airport lounges? Okay great, but you’re cool with murder and/or the public caning of women who were raped, and by having the audacity to be raped, were guilty of ‘engaging in adultery’? Got any bits on that?”
He added: “You’re performing for literally, the most oppressive regime on Earth. They have SLAVES for f–k’s sake!!!”
