David Cross condemned comedians who performed at the 2025 Riyadh Comedy Festival, arguing that their participation undercut their public criticism of “cancel culture” and defenses of free speech. The festival also drew separate criticism from human-rights groups, which said Saudi Arabia was using a major entertainment event to distract from repression and urged performers to speak up for detained activists.
What David Cross said about the festival
In a statement published on his website, Cross said he was “disgusted, and deeply disappointed in this whole gross thing.” He criticized performers he admired for appearing in what he called a “totalitarian fiefdom,” and named Dave Chappelle, Louie C.K. and Bill Burr. Variety reported on Cross’s statement on September 30, 2025.
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Cross’s core argument was about consistency: he said performers who had criticized cancel culture and defended freedom of speech damaged their credibility by agreeing to appear at the festival. He put it bluntly: “All of your bitching about ‘cancel culture’ and ‘freedom of speech’ and all that shit? Done. You don’t get to talk about it ever again. By now we’ve all seen the contract you had to sign.”
What was the Riyadh Comedy Festival?
The 2025 festival ran in Riyadh from September 26 through October 9, according to Human Rights Watch. Coverage named performers including Aziz Ansari, Hannibal Buress, Bill Burr, Jimmy Carr, Dave Chappelle, Pete Davidson, Maz Jobrani, Sam Morril, Mark Normand, Nimesh Patel and Tom Segura. The Guardian also listed Kevin Hart, Whitney Cummings and Jo Koy among those appearing. These are examples from separate reports, not a single confirmed exhaustive roster.
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Why human-rights groups objected
Cross focused on performers’ free-speech rhetoric. Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) raised a broader concern: that staging a high-profile entertainment event could help divert attention from restrictions on dissent and other human-rights abuses. These are the organizations’ assessments, not neutral descriptions of the festival’s purpose.
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HRW urged performers to use the event to call for the release of detained Saudi dissidents, journalists and activists, including human-rights defender Waleed Abu al-Khair and women’s-rights activist Manahel al-Otaibi. HRW reported that al-Otaibi’s 11-year sentence had recently been reduced to five years. “Everyone performing in Riyadh should use this high-profile opportunity to call for the release of detained Saudi activists,” said Joey Shea, HRW’s Saudi Arabia researcher.
HRW also reported that Saudi Arabia executed journalist Turki al-Jasser in June 2025. The organization said authorities had released few details about his detention, trial and execution, and that he appeared to have faced capital punishment because of peaceful speech and commentary. That account and interpretation are HRW’s.
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The festival dates included the seventh anniversary of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing. HRW and HRF cited the timing in their criticism; claims connecting the event’s timing to a motive or deliberate attempt to deflect attention should be understood as those organizations’ interpretations.
What the reported contract terms do—and do not—show
Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka declined an invitation and posted part of a proposed contract. The Guardian reported that its “Content Restrictions” section barred material denigrating “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including its leadership, public figures, culture, or people,” as well as the country’s legal system.
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Those terms belonged to the proposed contract Okatsuka declined. They do not establish that every comedian received or signed an identical contract. The Guardian also reported that Jim Jefferies and Pete Davidson said they had not received content guidelines.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Tim Dillon said about his removal and pay
HRW reported that comedian Tim Dillon said he was removed from the festival after making jokes on his podcast about Saudi Arabia’s human-rights record. Dillon said the festival had offered him $375,000 for one October 8 performance and that other performers had been offered as much as $1.6 million. Those amounts are Dillon’s claims as reported by HRW, not independently verified payment records.
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Why performers and advocates disagreed about taking the stage
The dispute was not only about whether comedians should accept an invitation. It also concerned what participation might signal, whether an international performance could provide an opportunity to criticize authorities, and whether appearing was compatible with performers’ public positions on expression.
HRF called on artists either to cancel or to use the platform to denounce the human-rights situation. It framed its position this way: “Comedy should punch up at dictators — not prop up their regimes.” HRW urged performers to raise detained activists’ cases from the stage. Cross’s criticism, by contrast, centered on what he saw as a contradiction between participation and performers’ own free-speech arguments.
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