A comedy festival in Saudi Arabia featuring high-profile American performers is drawing intense criticism from human rights advocates who say the star-studded event helps gloss over the kingdom’s ongoing human rights abuses.
The Riyadh Comedy Festival, which kicked off on September 26, has styled itself as “the world’s largest comedy festival,” with sets from more than 50 star comedians, including Kevin Hart, Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr and Pete Davidson. Running through October 9, the festival was organized by the Saudi Tourism Authority as part of the kingdom’s push to attract more visitors.
The festival also falls during the seventh anniversary of the assassination of Washington