Human Rights Watch have revealed that they “cannot accept” donations from Aziz Ansari and other comedians who “generously offered to donate part of their performance fees” from the recent Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia.
The state-sponsored festival, which also featured fellow standups Dave Chappelle and Bill Burr, has drawn criticism due to the Saudi Arabian government’s alleged human rights abuses, as well as accusations around its involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
Performers within the comedy world have offered different perspectives about the event – Marc Maron and Shane Gillis have been critical of those who agreed to perform; while Bill Burr and Louis C.K. have defended their decisions to take part. Jessica Kirson apologised for being involved, saying: “I am deeply sorry to all the fans and followers I have hurt or disappointed.”
For his part, Ansari defended his decision to play the festival while being questioned about it by Jimmy Kimmel. “You kind of have to make a choice of whether you’re going to isolate or engage” he said on the October 7 edition of Jimmy Kimmel Live. “For me, especially being me and looking the way I do and being from a Muslim background, it felt like something I should be a part of. And I hope it pushes things in a positive direction.”
Despite this assertion, Ansari and others did offer a portion of their performance fee to Human Rights Watch, who have been critical of the regime and the festival. However, Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at the organisation, told Variety such donations will be refused.
“While we cannot accept, it is not too late for them to call for the release of detained Saudi activists,” she said. “Human Rights Watch didn’t call for comedians to boycott the Riyadh Comedy Festival, but simply asked them to express their support for free speech by urging the release of Saudi activists unjustly imprisoned.”
Saudi Arabia has hosted a large number of entertainment spectacles as part of its Vision 2030 plan to improve the global image of the country, as well as diversify its economy. Significant events in the world of Boxing, UFC, and WWE have all been held there, however critics of the Saudi regime have claimed such entertainment is an attempt to whitewash its controversies.
In late 2023, Rod Stewart revealed he turned down a large financial offer to play a concert in Saudi Arabia, citing their human rights issues as his reason for turning it down.
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