‘One reporter was killed by the government but not a f***ing hill I’m going to die on,’ comedian Tim Jefferies told podcaster Theo Von

Some of the world’s best-known comedians – including American performers Dave Chappelle, Pete Davidson, Louis C.K., and Bill Burr – have been dubbed “sellouts” for taking part in a Saudi state-sponsored comedy festival in the wake of another journalist’s killing, and a reported rise in executions for non-lethal and drug-related crimes, along with long prison sentences imposed for social media posts.

The Riyadh Comedy Festival, hosted by Saudi Arabia’s government, is a new, lucrative gig for big-name comedians as the country expands its entertainment sector as part of “Saudi Vision 2030.” The initiative, brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also includes the highly-controversial LIV Golf tournament and investments in the tech, gaming, and venture capital sectors.

  • Almacca@aussie.zoneEnglish
    22·
    1 day ago

    I went to check who else was going, and was disappointed to see Jimeoin, Gabriel Iglesias and Hannibal Buress there.

    • inb4_FoundTheVegan@lemmy.world
      48·
      1 day ago

      Unfortunately Hannibal kinda sucks.

      Buress owns a building in Chicago; in 2017, he removed residential tenants in order to convert the property into Airbnb short-term rental units. In October 2019, he posted a tweet against Bernie Sanders’s call for rent control and asked for donations to an Illinois landlords association, leading to Twitter users criticizing him with the phrase “Hannibal Buress is a landlord”. Buress later stated that he regretted his now-deleted tweets, which he claimed were jokes meant to stir up controversy. He attributed the criticism he received to fallout over comments he made on Sanders’s age. Buress also said a housing charity had refused his $4,000 donation due to his perceived landlord advocacy.

      So him not caring who is paying him, long as he is getting paid, sorta tracks. :/

      • Almacca@aussie.zoneEnglish
        191·
        1 day ago

        Well that’s a shame. I quite liked his stand-up. Into the bin with him.

          • Almacca@aussie.zoneEnglish
            7·
            22 hours ago

            Bill Cosby was a hard one. That dude ignited my love of stand-up comedy when I was in high school back in the 80’s.

            • swearengen@sopuli.xyz
              5·
              22 hours ago

              No doubt, he was the first standup act I seen in person as a young teen. Had his albums on vinyl and everything.

              • Instigate@aussie.zone
                4·
                20 hours ago

                His records were among some of the first I ever owned (inherited from my father) and it really hurt to destroy them when we all found out about who he actually is. It really felt like I was destroying a part of my childhood. Had to be done though.