COMEDIAN Dave Chappelle received major backlash after making a ‘soulless’ joke about the death of political activist Charlie Kirk.
Chappelle, 52, joked about the assassination of the Turning Point USA founder at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia
Comedian Dave Chappelle is receiving major backlash following his performance in Saudi Arabia[/caption]
Chappelle commented on the shooting of Charlie Kirk during his set[/caption]
Kirk was assassinated while working a debate event for his company, Turning Point USA[/caption]
The comedy festival, running from September 26 to October 9, features many high-profile celebrities, including Chappelle, Pete Davidson, and Kevin Hart.
Human rights organization, the Human Rights Watch, criticized Saudi Arabia for using the festival as a way to cover up the country’s repression of free speech, USA Today reported.
However, at the festival, Chappelle joked that he had more free speech there than in the US.
“Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you’ll get canceled,” Chappelle told the 6,000-person crowd.
“I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out.”
Critics were quick to jump on Chappelle’s comment and blasted him for criticizing the US while in Saudi Arabia.
“Dave Chappelle, who went to Africa to avoid his show becoming a soulless grab for a millionaire, and Dave Chappelle now are not the same guys,” one critic wrote.
Frank Luntz, a professor at West Point and political consultant, also criticized Chappelle’s comments and noted the comedian’s contractual agreement that restricts his speech in Saudi Arabia.
“[He said] ‘it’s easier to talk here than it is in America’ at a comedy festival in Riyadh where comedians had to contractually agree not to tell jokes about Saudi leadership or religion,” Luntz said.
CONTROVERSIAL COMEDY
The festival comes after a federal judge allowed a lawsuit against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over its possible involvement in 9/11 to proceed.
The relatives of 9/11 victims celebrated the lawsuit as they’ve been pushing for it since 2002, according to USA Today.
Comedian Shane Gillis spoke about his decision not to accept the significant amount of money he was offered to perform at the festival.
“I took a principled stand,” Gillis said on his podcast, Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast.
“You don’t 9/11 your friends.”
What is the Riyadh Comedy Festival?
- Where: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- When: September 26-October 9
- Who is performing: Over 50 comedians from across the world, including the US, are set to perform at the festival
“I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing,” comedian David Cross posted on his website.
“This is truly the definition of ‘blood money.’”
Pete Davidson, whose father famously died on 9/11, said the paycheck to play at the festival was too big to pass up.
“I get the routing and then I see the number and I go, ‘I’ll go,’” Davidson said in a podcast interview with Theo Vonn.
Comedian Nimesh Patel said that he initially accepted the paycheck but canceled at the last minute, deciding instead to play 40 shows in the US rather than perform in Saudi Arabia.
“I canceled last week after having a change of heart,” Patel said.
“I’ll just do 40 shows that I had not planned on doing here in the perfectly clean, moral, above everyone else, United States of America. So if you want to hear my rationale, come out to those shows whenever they are. In joke form, I’ll explain why I decided not to go.”
