Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert appeared on each other’s talk show last night in solidarity for free speech. Though as comedian Tim Dillon commented tongue-in-cheek on his podcast, the “biggest free speech issue in the world” was why he was fired from the Riyadh Comedy Festival running until next week. After making an admittedly vulgar joke about slavery, Dillon was not offered to join fellow comedians Bill Burr, Kevin Hart, Dave Chapelle, Louis C.K., Aziz Ansari, Pete Davidson, Jimmy Carr, Hannibal Buress, Sam Morril, Jeff Ross, Whitney Cummings, Andrew Schulz and dozens of others at the festival.
Seemingly every major comedian was invited but a few did turn down the offer as explained humorously by Shane Gillis and Marc Maron:
Many Americans remain disillusioned and angry that a government accused of helping fund the worst terrorist attack on American soil in our lifetimes is still considered a U.S. ally. Last year, it was widely panned that Saudi Arabia was selected to Chair the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women.
Amnesty International Deputy Director for Advocacy Sherine Tadros commented at the time:
Saudi Arabia cannot prove its commitment to women’s rights merely by securing a leadership role in the commission. It must demonstrate its commitment through concrete actions domestically, including by abolishing the male guardianship system and repealing provisions from its laws that discriminate against women. Saudi Arabia’s authorities must also end their crackdown on freedom of expression and immediately release all those unjustly detained for expressing their views including expressing support for women’s rights.
Given that in the U.S. today nonconformist public speech can lead to perilous consequences, it is no wonder that the comedians who did accept the Saudi invitation to perform in Riyadh are being lambasted for not taking what critics believe to be a principled stand against an autocratic government which imprisons and kills its critics.
Years ago, Dave Chappelle, one of America’s most fearless and controversial comedians released a Netflix special in which he extolled comedians’ responsibility to speak recklessly. And yet Chappelle also appears in the Riyadh Comedy Festival lineup. Do entertainers have a moral responsibility to fight for free speech abroad?