Chappelle: 'Easier to Talk' in Saudi, Draws Criticism

At the Riyadh Comedy Festival, Dave Chappelle told roughly 6,000 people that "it’s easier to talk here than it is in America," joking about being ‘‘canceled’’ for criticizing figures like Charlie Kirk and saying he feared reprisals if he returned to the U.S. Critics called his remarks hypocritical because many performers reportedly signed contracts barring jokes about Saudi leadership, religion or the royal family and the festival is funded by a regime accused of serious human-rights abuses, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Fellow comedians were split: Bill Burr praised the event while David Cross, Marc Maron and others condemned participants for taking large Saudi paydays and normalizing the regime. Some performers, including Atsuko Okatsuka and Shane Gillis, declined to participate citing gag clauses, and commentators tied Chappelle’s appearance to broader U.S. free-speech debates after recent network pullbacks and political and regulatory threats. Chappelle’s past controversies over trans-focused jokes further fueled backlash, with some critics calling the set a "soulless" compromise between money and principles.