The comedian Dave Chappelle is facing backlash online after he criticized free speech in the U.S. while on stage at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.
Newsweek has contacted media representatives for Chappelle and the Saudi Arabian government via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The Riyadh Comedy Festival is currently underway in Saudi Arabia and has some of the most famous comedians in the world on its bill. The festival though had become a cultural flashpoint before it even began, with the comedians on the roster facing mounting scrutiny over their performances.
Saudi Arabia is continuing to amplify its cultural presence as part of its ‘Vision 2030’ strategy, which aims to position the country as a destination for culture and diversify the country’s economy. The plan was outlined almost a decade ago by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia is an ally of the United States.
Critics, though, have argued that these efforts are serving to distract from the country’s record of repressing free speech and dissent, as well as human rights violations, which have been widely reported. Human Rights Watch released a statement in response to the festival, which read: “The Saudi government is using the Riyadh Comedy Festival 2025 from September 26 to October 9 to deflect attention from its brutal repression of free speech and other pervasive human rights violations.”
What To Know
Chappelle, who was a headline act at the festival, said during his set, “Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you’ll get canceled. I don’t know if that’s true, but I’m gonna find out,” according to the New York Times.
“It’s easier to talk here than it is in America,” Chappelle said, as per the Times.
Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University on September 10. His assassination has sent shock waves through the country and highlighted divisions gripping the country. It has also reignited a discourse about free speech in America.
Chappelle’s joke was met with swift backlash online. The photographer Madhu Menon posted on X in response, “Is there a more textbook example of irony?”, while the writer Adnan Belushi wrote that Chappelle is “Projecting his privileged experience.”
What People Are Saying
Adnan Belushi, the writer and founder of The Chimp Chronicles, in a post on X: “Dave Chappelle is projecting his privileged experience of Saudi Arabia. Americans on average, still enjoy more free speech.”
Frank Luntz, the media personality, in a post on X: “Dave Chappelle 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.”
Gary Michael Walters, the producer, in a post on X: “C’mon Dave Chappelle! I’m a fan but seriously suggesting people have more free speech rights in Saudi Arabia than America is ass kissing to the extreme. That must have been a FAT check!!!”
Comedian David Cross published a strongly worded statement on his website targeting his peers who accepted invitations to the festival. “I am disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing. That people I admire, with unarguable talent, would condone this totalitarian fiefdom for … what, a fourth house? A boat? More sneakers? … We can never again take seriously anything these comedians complain about … how can any of us take any of you seriously ever again?”
What’s Next
The Riyadh Comedy Festival will conclude next Thursday, October 9.