Backlash Over Riyadh Comedy Festival and Saudi Rights Record

A star-studded comedy festival in Riyadh scheduled to begin this week has provoked a backlash from human rights groups and a chorus of criticism from comedians, who say performing there risks whitewashing Saudi Arabia's record on free speech and other abuses. The Riyadh Comedy Festival, organized by the Saudi General Entertainment Authority and slated to run from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9, features dozens of international headliners including Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, Bill Burr, Louis C.K., Jimmy Carr and others, with Carr listed as co-headlining an Oct. 6 show.

Human Rights Watch urged participating artists to use the platform to press Saudi authorities to release unjustly detained activists and journalists, noting the festival coincides with the seventh anniversary of the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Joey Shea, a Saudi researcher at Human Rights Watch, said comedians accepting sizable payments from the Saudi state should not remain silent on prohibited topics such as human rights or free speech. The organization said it wrote to representatives of several announced performers on Sept. 19 requesting a meeting about the country’s rights crisis; the representatives did...