The first three paragraphs
The existence of a Saudi Arabia comedy festival has been on the periphery of my mind for a few weeks, but there’s no more ignoring it. It’s finally here. The Riyadh Comedy Festival kicks off on Friday and runs for two weeks, and judging by the lineup, many famous comedians have no qualms about cashing that check and ignoring the human rights abuses.
The names involved are scattered across a range from “not surprising at all” to “wait, really?” There’s a contingent of people you knew weren’t going to say no: Jeff Ross, Kevin Hart, Chris Tucker, Russell Peters, Sebastian Maniscalco. They might as well rename this shit the Back Taxes Tour. The co-headliner combo of Louis C.K. and Jimmy Carr on Oct. 5 is to be expected. Then you get to names like Bill Burr, Pete Davidson, Aziz Ansari, Mo Amer … man, they must be getting a lot of money.
And what might that number be? Tim Dillon, a comedian who was scheduled to perform in Riyadh but was nixed for making a joke about slavery in Saudi Arabia on his podcast, claimed he stood to make $375,000 off doing one show there. Earlier this month, when he was defending his decision, he said that comedians in a higher “bracket” were being paid around $1.6 million each, and lower-tier talent was getting $150,000. “They’re paying me enough money to look the other way,” Dillon said. “Do you understand?”
The site - https://www.visitsaudi.com/en/seasons/riyadh-comedy-festival
Pete Davidson’s dad, Scott, was a firefighter who died in World Trade Centre during 9/11.
Your statements don’t align with each other. You can’t both say that Saudi Arabia is westernized and also that it’s secretly racist to say Saudi Arabia funded 9/11. If it was racist to say Saudi Arabia funded 9/11, that would mean that people don’t think it’s westernized. People who say Saudi Arabia funded 9/11, do so because they know Saudi Arabia is westernized, sometimes as part of the “9/11 was an inside job” conspiracy theory.
The mainstream American narrative is that Iran, Iraq, or Afghanistan are responsible for 9/11. Racists don’t blame Saudi Arabia for 9/11. Even racist Americans view Saudi Arabia and UAE as westernized, because Saudi Arabia is a US ally.
All of the comedians who rejected the invitation are the counter-culture liberal-adjacent comedians, the type of people who would say that George Bush did 9/11. All of the comedians who accepted the invitation are Joe-Rogan-orbiter I-got-canceled-for-this-joke mainstream “anti-woke” chud comedians. The comedians who accepted the Saudi Arabia invitation are the same people spread racism around 9/11.
Also the comedy festival is being advertised as a tourist destination, not as an event for locals. The ticket sales are for western tourists. This is why I mention that the main language of Saudi Arabia is Arabic and yet the comedians all speak English.
If it was an event for locals. If it was organized by civilians. If it had Arabic comedians as well as English comedians and other languages as well. If these things were true then there would be less outrage.