"They’re going to do something to me": Dave Chappelle mocks free speech in America at Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Comedy Festival

While taking the stage at the Riyadh Comedy Festival in Saudi Arabia, Dave Chappelle said that free speech is under threat in the United States. Chapelle, while addressing an audience of 6,000, talked about the aftereffects of Charlie Kirk's death and said,

"Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you'll get canceled. I don't know if that's true, but I'm gonna find out."

He then added,

"It's eadier to talk here than it is in America."

The Riyadh Comedy Festival began on September 6 and is set to run till October 9. The festival has invited global comedians, including Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Pete Davidson, Whitney Cummings, and more, who will be collecting their fees directly from the Saudi government.

While wrapping up his set, Dave Chappelle admitted that he was concerned about returning to the United States,

"They're going to do something to me so that I can't say what I want to say."

Why is Dave Chappelle under fire?

Dave Chappelle and other comedians are under fire for taking the stage at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, which began on September 26. The comedians have received criticism from Human Rights Watch, which argued in a news release that the Saudi government is trying to whitewash its abuse of journalists.

Exactly seven years ago, Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was assassinated by the agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, in October 2018.

The Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch, Joey Shea said,

"The seventh anniversary of Jamal Khashoggi's brutal murder is no laughing matter, and comedians receiving hefty sums from Saudi Authorities shouldn't be silent on prohibited topics in Saudi like human rights or free speech."

Human Rights Watch also urged invited comedians to see the comedy festival as an opportunity to "publicly urge Saudi authorities" to "free unjustly detained Saudi dissidents, journalists, and human rights activists."

However, the invited comedians allegedly seemed unbothered by Human Rights Watch's press release and admitted that they are willing to perform at the high fees. Tim Dillon, in a podcast segment which led to his firing from the festival, said that the festival was paying him "enough money to look the other way."

Pete Davidson, on Theo Von's podcast, while addressing his father's death on 9/11, said that he was happy to forget the incident for the right price.

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