This weekend, the Riyadh Comedy Festival begins and the organizers have gathered 50 comedians, including some of the world's biggest names in the genre in one place. Kevin Hart, Louis CK, Dave Chappelle, and Jimmy Carr are just a few of the stars who will perform in the Saudi capital during the two-week laughter festival.
However, the arrangement has received harsh criticism from human rights organizations, which have accused Saudi Arabia and the participating comedians of "comedy washing"
"The Saudi regime is using the Riyadh Comedy Festival to divert attention from its brutal suppression of freedom of expression and other widespread human rights abuses," says Human Rights Watch in a statement.
Several comedian colleagues have also been harsh in their criticism. Shane Gillis told in his podcast "Secret podcast" that he declined "an unusually large bag of money" to go to Saudi Arabia.
But I took a stand on pure principle. You can't "9/11" your friends, says Gillis according to Deadline and refers to the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers in the September 11, 2001 attack were Saudi citizens.
