‘Amoral, evil’: vitriolic backlash builds against comics who played Riyadh festival

Pete Davidson: “I see the number and go: ‘I’ll go’.”

Bill Burr: Confirmed there was censorship… “but the royals loved the show.”

Louis CK: “I struggled about going once I heard what everybody was saying.”

You might think, then, that comedians most vehement in their protestations against cancel culture – Chappelle, Ansari, CK, in particular – would balk at performing in a country whose predilection for silencing extends to (alleged) murder by bone-saw.

Murder by bone-saw, lashings for rape victims, punishment amputation, jail for satirists … these are the Saudi human rights abuses fuelling the fury being directed at the likes of Louis CK, Dave Chappelle and Jimmy Carr.

Disagree

when the US and UK governments and royalty stop cozying up to the Saudis…

when they stop allowing the Saudis from buying up major real estate and landmarks and football clubs…

when they ban Saudis at Royal Ascot and impose sanctions…

THEN they can come after comedians, singers, tennis players, boxers, footballers…

all damn hypocrites