For weeks, ridicule poured in against the American comedians set to perform this week in Saudi Arabia — a country not known for its civil liberties.
But by the time they took to the stage, the comedians had turned the joke on U.S. free speech.
“Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you’ll get canceled” the comedian Dave Chappelle quipped on Saturday at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, the first event of its kind in Saudi Arabia. “I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out.”
A headline act, Mr. Chappelle was met with whoops, cheers and applause as he told an audience of 6,000, “It’s easier to talk here than it is in America.”
Though happening thousands of miles away from the United States in the conservative Saudi kingdom, Mr. Chappelle’s act tapped into the strange currents of American politics that were coursing through the event.
He was performing in Riyadh at the same time as a divisive free speech debate was roiling the United States. It began after the late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel was briefly pulled from the airwaves after growing criticism by many conservatives and a federal regulator over a monologue about the killing of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk. Mr. Kimmel returned to television last week.
Despite the furor, President Trump has called on regulators to consider revoking licenses for networks that broadcast his critics.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.