The quick version

Saudi Arabia just launched the Riyadh Comedy Festival, part of its Vision 2030 effort to turn the country into a global entertainment hub. It’s packed with comedy A-listers and glam, but people are saying it’s image-laundering for a regime tied to 9/11 and Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

The lineup

Think of the biggest names in stand-up and you bet your ass they’re on it. Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Pete Davidson, Gabriel Iglesias, Bobby Lee, Jeff Ross, Chris Tucker, Andrew Schulz, Tom Segura, and Sebastian Maniscalco are all performing.

It runs September 26 to October 9, 2025, in Boulevard City, Riyadh, overseen by Turki Al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Entertainment.

The money talk

The offers were massive:

• Tim Dillon says he was offered $375,000 for one performance, before being dropped for making jokes about slavery in Saudi Arabia.
• Mid-tier acts were reportedly offered $300,000–$500,000 each.
• Headliners like Chappelle, Hart, and Burr were offered between $1 million and $1.6 million.

For perspective: some comics make less than that in a full U.S. tour…

Why people are angry

Saudi Arabia has long been accused of using major sports and entertainment events to “whitewash” its global image, and this festival is the latest example.

Out of the 19 hijackers in the September 11 attacks, 15 were Saudi nationals, and declassified FBI files suggest potential ties between Saudi officials and some of those hijackers. Critics also point to the 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence says was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

So when the same regime is now paying millions to top U.S. comedians, it feels like an attempt to buy credibility through laughter.

The call-outs

This is where things really blew up online.

• Marc Maron posted a viral Instagram video roasting the festival: “From the folks that brought you 9/11, two weeks of laughter in the desert. Don’t miss it. The same guy that’s gonna pay them is the same guy that paid the guy to bone saw Jamal Khashoggi. But don’t let that stop the yucks.”
• Shane Gillis revealed on his podcast that he “turned down a significant bag“, saying he “took a principled stand. You don’t 9/11 your friends.”
• Zach Woods posted a deadpan “promo” mocking the sellouts, saying, “Name one comedian who hasn’t whored themselves out to a dictator.”

Meanwhile, the comment sections under posts from the festival’s biggest names, like Mark Normand, Chappelle, and Burr, are being flooded with angry fans calling them sellouts, hypocrites, and tone-deaf.

Even comics who didn’t get invited are speaking up, arguing that you can’t preach about free speech on one hand and cash checks from a dictatorship on the other.

The bigger picture

Human Rights Watch says the event “launders the Saudi regime’s image while silencing dissent.” Comedians like Atsuko Okatsuka shared screenshots of proposed contracts that included censorship clauses banning jokes about religion or politics.

It’s become a global litmus test: who values the art, and who values the check.

What would you do in their position?

• Take the money and face backlash, or
• Turn it down and take a stand.